STEPS ON EDGE

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Japanese Prog/Fusion band, found in Waseda in 1990 by guitarist Atsunobu Tamura.Side Steps debuted the same year with a self-produced work and silently begun to put live performances on their schedule.Two more album followed in 1991 and 1992 (''Side Steps 2'' and ''Against the wave'' respectively), while all three of these releases have never seen the light out of the Japanese borders.A fourth effort followed in 1994, the CD ''Steps on edge'' with permanent members Hiroaki Itoh on keyboards, Koichi Iwai on bass and Ichiro Fukawa on drums, reissued in 2003 by Musea Records.

Excellent teamwork on this lovely album full of well-composed and balanced compositions, characterized by its shifting moods and gears.''Steps on Edge'' contains seven mostly long instrumental compositions, based on fiery guitar solos, flashy synthesizers, flexible bass lines and powerful drumming, ranging from virtuosic passages and technical solos to ethereal piano breaks and melodic textures.It is a typical example of Japanese Fusion with strong jazzy overtones and even atmospheric symphonic leanings on the keyboard parts, reminiscent of MR. SIRIUS, but more on the Fusion than the Prog side of rock music.The guitar work of Tamura has a light HOLDSWORTH edge on it and his ideas are definitely the highlight of the release.However the numerous keyboard themes and the solid rhythm section make ''Steps on edge'' an album full of nice interplays and balanced instrumentation.

Fans of MR. SIRIUS, BRUFORD or MONGOL should definitely check this album out, this is certainly a pretty good discovery by the Musea team.Melodic and at the same time technical Fusion with a rich sound, of course strongly recommended...3.5 stars.