GENTRY

This is the second album (cd) from this excellent band from Québec city.The first one Mirror of Insanity was my favorite of 2004 with Riverside (Out of myself).So for this one it's hard to surprise the fans like the first one.It still good and original but they change the singer and I have trouble with that .The music is excellent a bit more dark than the first one .I give 4 stars to this album and it's a good addition to your cd collection.But if you dont know the band,I would suggest to start with GENTRY and after that go buy MIRROR OF INSANITY.If you like Marillion(with Fish) you will love RED SAND. POTS

Red Sand is the brain-child of Simon Caron from Québec City. And what a child it is! "Gentry" is the second album of Red Sand with symphonic progressive rock at its best. Simon is becoming one of the top guitarist and an excellent music writer in Québec with flowing texts as lyrics, great music and outstanding guitar solos. The rest of the band is in excellent form and indeed, Red Sand has become a tight unit. As with their first effort "Mirror of Insanity", Gentry has great taste in the style of well, Red Sand! There are traces of Marillion and Genesis but the music is still quite good and distinct. Gentry has required lots of effort and selek production and it shows in the sound and the quality where nothing has been left to chance; these guys are professionals in playing, writing and producing progressive rock.

"Gentry" is a bit dark moody album with a theme that many of us are puppets and live like puppets. The four songs clock at 46:41 and flow one into the other like a single unit. André Dorval has done a superb job in production. Steff's voice is just on the note and the support of Simon Caron (guitars), Mathieu Gosselin (Bass), Pierre Massicote (keyboards) and Pierre Angelillo (drums) create a very memorable album.

For me, this is one of the best discovery and top album of 2005.

This is the second effort from the Canadian band Red Sand, rooted in Quebec, the cradle of Prog Archives. The music is in the vein of their debut CD but the compositions sound more matured and their new singer has a more original and expressive voice. It's party time for the Seventies symphonic rock aficionados: pleasant and melodic 'side- long' compositions, obviously early Marillion inspired and loaded with wonderful, very sensitive guitar soli and lush Mellotron work. The slow and bombastic rhythms and eruptions deliver lots of howling electric guitar, often accompanied by majestic choir- Mellotron, GOOSE BUMPS! If you love bands like early Marillion, IQ, Pendragon and Clepsydra, you will embrace this wonderful new album from Red Sand!

I love marionettes. May be is the memories of childhood. Or the idea of control over the actions of others? Whatever the case maybe, the music of Red Sand is my cup of tea. I love the classic Genesis/Marillion sound. But with a few innovations. Modern production. I really like this work. Strongly recommended to fans of early Marillion.

"WE ARE THE GENTRY ONES..." Oh yes guys you are!!!

I expected something at least not better than debut,but this one is even better in some aspects!!!It is more synphonic (Mellotron rules!),epics are more structured,and some moments just blow me!!!With this album RED SAND proves that they are NOT Marillion/ Clepsydra/Pendragon clone,even a flawless one - RED SAND has a sound of its own,they're UNIQUE!!! They've managed to create mellow and mild atmosphere,absolutely incomparable - you can mention some bands when describing RED SAND,but you know that they sound in their own way...It is awesome!

Besides,RED SAND have recreated The Art Of Composing The NEO-PROG EPIC!!! Since early Marillion,Pallas and IQ have changed their styles (Pallas and IQ became more New Symphonic-like,Mariilon changed completely), the only band which have recreated The Art without coping their manners was COLLAGE from Poland with their magnificient "MOONSHINE" .Then The Art was lost again - Neo-Proggers wrote complex songs (Arena's "Solomon") or New Symphonic-like odysseys (IQ's "Harvest of Souls").But with RED SAND's "Mirror of Insanity" The Art has returned - their epics are sincere,melodic and very neo-proggish!!!

I recommend this band to every Neo-Prog fan.They worth more attention here!!!

Patience is the key .

I have been informed that Red Sand is a band in the vein of Marillion and my colleague prog heads recommended me this album. This might not be the best album by the band but when I spun it at the first time, I almost lost my patience with this album due to the tempo is so slow and it consumes my listening pleasure, really. Take the opening part "Submissive" which consumes more than three minutes with a very very very slow tempo of music with singing style. Yes, after that you will find catchy guitar solo in the vein of Marillion's "Chelsea Monday" but by the time my energy has drained out because of the slow tempo at beginning. It's probably the band's intention to create the right dark nuance for the song but it seems like being elongated very long. I am not saying that this is a bad track at all, it's just too long and actually not necessarily this long. The singing style is also dragging too long, which actually fits with the music, but it sounds quite annoying to my ears. The transition piece in approx minute 11:20 when the acoustic guitar fills enter does not sound smoothly, and again . it moves so slowly.

"Gentry" starts with a disconnected telephone call with annoying answering machine "The number you dial has been changed ." repeatedly and it does annoy my ears. The soundscape was not crafted properly, I think. The band should have hired Mr, Steven Wilson to do this part. "Very Strange" is also another slow moving song - well, at least at the opening part - using long sustain keyboard work followed with music in medium tempo. I have lost my patience here and I have stop the player .. sorry . I can not wait that long .. it's dragging too long, I think.

Overall, this is not a bad album at all but for sure you have to have "patience" to get the full joy of this album. I recommend this album for collectors of neo progressive music only or fans of the band. I don't think the music of this album is in a way similar with Marillion - they are definitely different! Most of passages in the composition do not flow naturally. (Imagine Marillion's "Heart of Lothian" which moves smoothly even though the style changes, or Marillion's masterpiece "Forgotten Sons" with many tempo and style changes). Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

3.5 stars. RED SAND are a Neo-Prog from Quebec and this is their second album "Gentry". I feel this is a definite upgrade over their debut and the two very long tracks that make up the bulk of this album work quite well. Both are over 18 minutes in length with a short track in between. This sounds pretty good as they use a fair amount of sampled mellotron, emotional guitar and vocals that we often hear of from this genre. I do believe this is a concept album from all the samples we get.

"Submissive" starts out with synths and gentle guitar as mellotron joins in. Reserved vocals after a minute then we can hear the street noise of barking dogs etc. as it builds. A relaxed guitar solo arrives when the vocals stop 3 1/2 minutes in. It kicks back in after 5 1/2 minutes instrumentally then the vocals return after 6 minutes. It then settles back with that gentle guitar like the intro after 11 minutes with mellotron.Vocals are back and the sound gets fuller. Some nice guitar after 14 minutes. Some passionate vocals before 16 minutes then the guitar replaces the vocals.

"Gentry" opens with a sample of an operator speaking as piano comes in then reserved vocals. Synths 1 1/2 minutes in then a fuller sound with vocals. It settles again as contrasts continue.The operator is back to end it. "Very Strange" opens with mellotron and lots of atmosphere. Drums and a fuller sound a minute in.Vocals as it picks up 2 1/2 minutes in.The tempo continues to shift on this over 19 minute song. A calm 3 minutes in as reserved vocals come in. It starts to pick up after 4 minutes. A couple of "F" bombs are dropped before 6 minutes and two more after 6 minutes for good measure. Some samples follow then it picks back up. Good sound 10 minutes in with guitar, bass and vocals shining. A calm follows. More samples as the vocals continue.The guitar cries out before 12 minutes. It settles again 14 minutes in before picking up again. "The Voice" is a sappy bonus track.

If your a Neo-Prog fan i'd very much suggest you check this album out.

Red Sand is one of the neo prog bands rooted in Quebec zone in last decade, offering so far 4 albums and a DVD. I was aware about the their music somewhere around their second album issue, 2005. Gentry is the second release of Red Sand and I think their best, better then previous work who is the best rated here, I found Gentry to be more mature, more choesive and has all the ingredients for a solid neo prog album. The head of the band Simon Caron, the guitar player done a very good job here, very smooth and fine guitar parts, realy I like it a lot, the band not falls in some boring arrangements overall, they developed their own sound and has some spicey on top aswell. The album has an almost perfect atmosphere mainly because the band has a diffrent vocalist Steff Dorval, who fits better IMO in Red Sand's music then the former vocalist. The album has only 3 pieces and a bonus track . Two very long pieces Submissive, the best Red Sand tune ever, excellent piece where everything is perfect and Very strange the longest track almost 20 min of great neo prog. In between these 2 tracks is the title track gentry, less lenghty clocking around 5 min and a half is amid tempo almost slow tiune but where the lyrics are very miningfull and pleasent as the music aswell. The music and special the guitar parts has that special flavour of Pink Floyd, Marillion and here and there a Camelesque mood taken places. The opening track as I said is the best, and one of the best neo prog pieces I ever heared, very good vocal parts, great guitar work and above all some very fine keybords arrangemets. So, a 4 star album to me, one of the pleasent albums from this scene for sure, at least for me, the magic of this albun they were not able to make again on any other future album.

Just a year after ''Mirror of Insanity'' and its warm acceptance by the press, Simon Caron and Red Sand return with the sophomore album ''Gentry''.Only drummer Perry Angelillo remains on his place from the first line-up with Caron recruiting new singer Steff Dorval in place of Hëmel.The keyboards are handled by Pierre Massicotte of the disbanded Dagmahr, while the bass was a responsibility of The D Project's Mathieu Gosselin.

This time Caron decided to present two long compositions along with two shorter tracks.The longer compositions contain all these elements a Classic prog fan seeks for.Lyrical moments, mindblowing guitar solos, acoustic passages, dominant keyboard deliveries, plenty of changing moods, a generally symphonic atmosphere, not to mention the strong use of mellotron at moments.Absolutely well-crafted and intricate material.The eponymous track, placed between the epics, is a nice Neo Prog ballad with intense lyrical content, mellow piano by Massicotte and a beautiful solo by Caron at the end.The closing bonus track of the original pressing ''The voice'' is just an average vocal-driven soft ballad with decent piano and acoustic guitar, nothing bad but not extraordinary either.More or less the instrumental approach follows the high standards of the band's debut.What strikes a bit though is new singer Steff Dorval, who's voice seems quite rough for the style presented and more suitable to Heavy or Hard Rock bands than to a sensitive Neo Prog act.

Another fine delivery by one of the most interesting Neo Prog entries of the millenium. Sensitive, atmospheric but also vintage-sounding Progressive Rock of the old MARILLION and IQ school.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Gentry © 2006

Steff-vocals Simon (Richard) Caron-guitars Perry Angelillo-drums Piere Massicotte-keyboards Mathieu Gosselin-bass Many critics consider this progfany drive many weaker than the first-born. I do not agree with them. The disc is slightly different from the Mirror Of Insanity, but it is not less ... it is another. If the first was made in the spirit of Marillion, most notably the influence of Script For A Jesters Tear, then Gentry has close to the Genesis. Memories! Mellotron in the first 18-minute composition. On this disc, a new lead singer Stiff, which also did not take criticism. Of course, his voice is so beautiful, like Hemel. but he takes his emotions! Also on this disc, the new bass guitarist and keyboardist. I do not know what's going on with them, but the change to the composition of the good will not See what sluchilosm with the finest group of Flamborough Head / Again drive a little bit different, it is closer in spirit and in musical terms to Genesis. Apparently, not a small contribution to this new keyboard. All four songs are just super melodic and super slushabelny :) It is I liked this CD Rated 12 out of 12 ©Genesisomania