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A BATTLE A DAY ...

Fruitcake

Neo-Prog


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Fruitcake A Battle A Day ... album cover
3.04 | 29 ratings | 5 reviews | 24% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 2000

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Mopery And Dopery In Deep Space (8:03)
2. One Night (3:46)
3. Reaching Out (8:19)
4. Stories One Hears (5:44)
5. Water Colours (6:36)
6. The Old Man (8:12)
7. This Room (10:02)
8. Thundercloud (6:12)

Total Time: 57:18

Line-up / Musicians

- Robert Hauge / guitar
- Helge Skaarseth / keyboards
- Olav Nygard / bass, bass pedals
- Pål Søvik / drums, vocals

With:
- Anngunn Sørli / backing vocals

Releases information

The complete album title is "A Battle A Day Keeps The Doctor Away"

CD Cyclops ‎- CYCL 095 (2000, UK)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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FRUITCAKE A Battle A Day ... ratings distribution


3.04
(29 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(24%)
24%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(34%)
34%
Good, but non-essential (21%)
21%
Collectors/fans only (10%)
10%
Poor. Only for completionists (10%)
10%

FRUITCAKE A Battle A Day ... reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Nightfly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Having recently given A Battle A Day. a spin for the first time in a few years I was reminded why at the time of buying this CD I wasn't inclined to start investigating further into the Fruitcake back catalogue. While this album is not a total disaster, to sum it up in one word my overriding feeling is that this is a bit dull.

Fruitcake's Neo Prog follows simple musical structures, often repetitive and lacks dynamics most of the time. The keyboards play a dominant role, either holding down chords or playing uninspiring, repetitive synth lines in the main. The musicianship while adequate for the requirements of the songs leaves you feeling that the band would struggle to tackle anything too technical.

While the production is not too bad, the guitar could benefit from a bit more beef, particularly when Robert Hauge is playing more in power chord mode. The drums while well up in the mix sound a bit boxy, particularly the snare. I was however quite pleased with the punchy bass guitar sound.

Too try not to be too negative though; the songs in the main are despite lacking excitement, pleasant enough though a few stronger melodies wouldn't go amiss. Most are around the 8 minute mark and more could have been made of the instrumental passages to give the songs more dynamics, instead of just plodding along. Hauge does however play some decent guitar solos, sometimes in a restrained Dave Gilmour style. The Old Man probably captures the band at their best with a more enjoyable and lengthy instrumental break, a powerful organ sound and a fine guitar solo from Hauge. Though there are quite a few lengthy instrumental breaks on the CD, a few more of this quality could have raised the album up a notch.

Overall then, with this album simply being an okay release and with the amount of more exciting Neo Prog bands out there, Fruitcake remain a band I can live without.

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars No major changes in their music with this album. Just decent neo-prog with some attempts to (short) epics which aren't very thrilling. Still, the longer pieces are of better exposure than the other short tracks.

Still, if you are allergic to bands that are emulating ''Watcher Of Skies'' from whom you might have heard, the opening track ''Mopery.'' might be a difficult experience. On top of the musical cliché, one has to ''absorb'' some pitiful vocals (but this is no news if you have already listened to their previous albums). How this guy is still in charge is a mystery for me.

Anyway, the music is not too bad, but frankly: is it all that necessary? I guess not, unfortunately. Some sort of an album that doesn't really deserve a thorough listening: just OK while being played in the background or in your CD player while driving in some traffic jams.

As ''Nightfly'' correctly depicts: this isn't a total disaster. Just too derivative and with too little feeling this time. Some old ''Genesis'' freaks might be moved, but I am more demanding. This neo-prog is far too much conservative IMHHO and this album doesn't really deserve a high rating.

Great musical (and original) moments are absent or too scarce to raise the level: some good guitar during the final part of ''Reaching Out''. OK. But is this going to make it all? I guess not!

Most of the tracks are average to flat (''Water Colours'') and as usual, vocals are ruining all the efforts. Two stars is the best rating I can come up with. I do not share the feel of another reviewer who compares this band with ''Landberk'' or ''Anekdoten''. They really don't share the same bill.

Review by kev rowland
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Reviewer
3 stars when the opening song is called "Mopery and Dopery in Deep Space" then you could be forgiven for thinking that Fruitcake really had become as nutty as one. But, in their defence, this is actually a very accomplished classic Genesis-style album. Pål Søvik's vocals are very clear with no accent and while they appear to be happy to spend much of their time locked in the early Seventies is that really a problem?

One of the joys of Fruitcake is the way that they can go from gentle acoustic-based song to blast then back again all within the space of a few bars, as can be heard on "One Night" when bass pedals dynamically change the whole feel of the music. This is music that is all about space, about letting the instruments having enough room to find their natural balance. While it is not often that they really let rip no-one can accuse Fruitcake of not having passion. This is a pleasant prog album that takes little effort to listen to.

Originally appeared in Feedback #64, Dec 01

Latest members reviews

5 stars Another masterpiece. This can be "Fruitcake"'s most difficult album to get into, but after a few listenings you appreciate the potential of this band/album. Long songs with a lot of changes but always keeping the distinctive sound of "Fruitcake" (really original). Dark voice from a dark forest ... (read more)

Report this review (#59009) | Posted by | Saturday, December 3, 2005 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Music played by the band members is well arranged and has much more Symphonic sound then Neo Prog. In general maybe album is not an essential but it's quite good to listen to and has nice guitar solos as well as drum work. ... (read more)

Report this review (#46518) | Posted by Vasil Jalabadze | Tuesday, September 13, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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