SKY 3

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'Sky 3' saw keyboardist Steve Gray's entry in Sky's line-up in replacement of Francis Monkman. This factor lead to the instillation of a slightly (yet clearly) jazzier feel into the band's sound. Not that the classcial touch got missing; on the contrary, there's still pretty much of it. The brief opening and closing themes, the evocative 'Connecting Rooms', and the beautiful rendition of Haendel's 'Sarabande' (ah, those heavenly classical guitars,... and that harpsichord,... and those magnificent synth layers...) are awesome samples of Sky's stylish symphonic facet. Yet, you can tell that the repertoire, as a whole, gives more room to jazz fusionesque (and sometimes funky) ambiences. Just to mention a few examples, 'Chiropodie No. 1', 'Meheeco' (a spectacular piece, full of exotic Mexican-like nuances), 'Sister Rose', and the delicate ballad 'Hello'. Gray's role is more subdued in comparison to that of Monkman's in the first two Sky recordings. Though he does solo every now and then, it is clear that he is more comfortable creating layers and chord progressions while his two guitarist partners come to the fore most of the time. Fry, as always, exhibitis his excellency on drums and some tuned percussion devices, and Flowers does a damn great job on his precise bass lines, and occasionally, contrabass (once again, I have to mention that magical piece titled 'Meheeco'). These guys are serious musicians (Willliams is not only classically trained, but also has gained worldwide recognition for his infinite finesse on the nylon strings since the late 60s), but they can always find a way to show off their amusing side: the most blatant case is Flowers penned 'Dance of the Big Fairies', a tuba-based number where the acoustic guitars, piano and harpsichord travel from circus merry spirit to Baroque to Greek folk dance - this only shows you that prog can also be fun and genius at once! Of all Kevin Peek numbers (he's the most proficientwriter in the band), 'Westwind' must be the most accomplished one, and a definite highlight of the album, indeed. The aforementioned 'Sarabande', 'Meheeco' and 'Connecting Rooms' (the latter, an exquisite 3-part mini-suite penned by drummer Fry but with the guitar and keyboards alternating the leading role) are, in my opinion, the other album's peaks. All in all, an excellent addition to any prog collection: it's true that Monkman's special magic is gone, but again, Sky remains a very creative band.

Third album (as you might have guessed), but still nothing new under the sun, Sky is still unable to get excited about their music and understandably so, neither are most of the listener or even less the demanding proghead. Don't get me wrong; the average symphonic proghead will probably consider Sky as very interesting especially if he loves Camel, Happy The Man or even softer prog such as Alan Parsons and Ambrosia. Not a note out of place, AND IT IS A DAMN SHAME!!!!! I mean this flawless (but listless and the era in which it was recorded in will do nothing to better the mediocrity), slick (but lacklustre), instrumental (but from the choice of music, it might just as well be), never gets nervous, never gets you to perk your attention and this taking the cake is mostly about ripping off the classical masters. But unlike their Dutch counterparts like Trace or Ekseption, they do it with a kind of grace and style that makes more acceptable to the demanding proghead. But this album does not even come close to its predecessor, as it is downright so bland that the lack of flavour might just make it slightly stinky. However, this group's entire discography (I will stop at this one) is hardly worthy your investigation unless you own a few sky-scrappers and you want some progressive elevator music or you own a supermarket chain and you want some slightly better muzak.

If you must really investigate avoid this one and try on of the first two albums, because compared to them (at least there were some qualities to those), this one belongs to the vertical files.

A pleasant, unassuming prog disc. This album by Sky is akin to a nice stroll down a country path. Sounding like Happy The Man lite, it's a bit jazzy with classical guitar, tuba! and harpsicord, (NOT all in one song, btw ;-). Not your most complicated prog, but if you're in the mood for some easy-listening and would like to play something nice for friends not into prog, this might fit the bill. Can't exactly call it essential, but it's at least good.

Both "Sky 2" and "Sky 3" were pressed in Yugoslavia shortly after they had been released. Although the former was quite popular, I purchased "Sky 3" on cassette tape because at that time I did not own a record player and this title I saw in tape format. Apart from several pleasant but unimaginative instrumental tracks that enjoyed considerable radio and TV play as background for commercials, the whole album made no significant impression on me. Fair but emotionless instrumentalist performance, some classical re-works and overall muzak style can be nice for housewives but not for a demanding prog listener. The album is not entirely bad and occasional spins can relax you, but nothing more than that.

SKY lost a great deal when they lost Francis Monkman.

The stellar musicianship continues, as does the playfulness, necessary to offset the imposing nature of the music they play. But the progressive sensibilities are dimished here, and on subsequent SKY recordings they fade into the background. And from this album onward one gets the sense that SKY had lost their desire to try something new, and worked within the limits imposed by their formula.

The album starts with a gentle acoustic introduction, is followed by a standard SKY rocker with a few solos, and in turn by one of the three interesting pieces ('Westwind'). This, along with 'Connecting Rooms' and 'Meheeco', would not have been out of place on their magnificent previous album. Here they stretch themselves with time changes and complex melodies that intertwine and counterpoint. One wonders, however, what Monkman's superior compositional skills might have added to even these excellent pieces.

This is competent instrumental music that is sometimes elevated to excellent, but never reaches the heights seen on SKY'S first two releases. Those looking for a taste of classical/jazz/rock instrumental music with far more integrity than muzak or 'Hooked on Classics' would do well to acquire either Sky1 or Sky2. This album is for those wanting a little more of the same.

While parts of the excellent "Sky 2" implied a certain commercial concession to "classical pop", those aspects are virtually dispensed with on "Sky 3", perhaps the influence of newcomer Steve Gray. Moreover, while the group's relatively tame style may be irksome to some, within the context of its time this is still a rather bold endeavour.

Apart from its more understated nature - just listen to the marvelous and dignified "Chiropodie" and Handel's "Sarabande" if you need proof - the other major progression is in the jazzier accents, which suit this formation to a T. Tunes like "Westwind" and "Sister Rose" more than suggest a pull towards that idiom, and even the relatively rocking "Moonroof". While "Dance of the Big Fairies" is like "Tuba Smarties Part 2", "Meheeco" is not nearly what the bastardized title suggests. It's a full fledged prog number with spanish guitars, a worldly beat, and a kitchen sink approach to a finale that stands as SKY's ultimate moment as a band.

Some of the material is a bit more languid than most of us would like, in particular "Hello", which sounds like CAMEL on downers, if you get my drift. "Connecting Rooms" is,the quantitative centerpiece, but unfortunately that's all that can be said, as it abruptly switches between mundane themes. But on the whole this is the equal if not the peer of its predecessor, even if it might not propel the demanding progger skyward. 3.5 stars rounded up.