COMEDY OF ERRORS

Well you know, usually I don't like such a derivative Neo Progressive School very much, this time being in the vein of Abel Ganz and Pallas, even though this new line-up of Comedy of Errors here improved their artistic impact in comparison to the weak demos of the early eighties... the present studio album is dated 1988 and it's another direct emanation from the Scottish Abel Ganz. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to criticize their project, but rather I'd like to point out a few defects and some good things as well: first of all the production is better than the uneven recordings of their previous works; secondly the sound is more mature and quite interesting too; nevertheless the presence of an habitual reference concerning the early Genesis, a bit affected by their interest for Pallas, it's a defect inside the music of C. of E., that is a forced manner of emulating the British model of Neo Prog... "The Student Prince - Part 1 (omitted)" is a typical example of their failed attempt regarding an organic development of a mini-suite; while "Rule Britannia" is a gift to Peter Gabriel & the early Genesis during the show of "Dancing with the Moonlight Night", where the term "Britannia" appeared in their old gigs as a reference to the traditional British culture, in the place of Great Britain...but coming back to the present work, this was the last effort before the definitive break-up of C. of. E., perhaps cause of their awareness to be out of time, especially nowadays in the UK where unfortunately the sound of many pop bands like Oasis (except on the pretty successful impact of the commercial but quite good ensemble of Coldplay...) has been always the prevailing trend within the world of the current light music in Europe.

For their collectors only!

If you skip through my reviews, you’ll find that I like that kind of Neo-Prog. It’s usually poorly recorded (half-true here), Pop/Pop- Rock inspired (pretty true here) and hardly known even to the majority of Prog-lovers (very true here!). There are bands like ARAGON, ABEL GANZ, TWELFTH NIGHT, some early IQ, PALLAS and PENDRAGON releases, projects like SHADOWLAND and CASINO etc. I always wondered why I fell in love with such bands, because I dislike AOR (which is frequently confused with these bands) and have no mania for 80s Pop/Pop-Rock stuff. Anyway, here is another one; obscure British band with sound and manner similar to early IQ and MARILLION. Tracks like “Rule Britannia”, “The Student Prince” and “Stage of Fools” are stand-out ones, reminding me of best moments from above-mentioned bands. Shorter numbers like “Emperor’s Clothes”, “Tunes of Glory” and “Once in a While” (what a ballad!) have lower record quality, but musically quite good too. I think this is a posthumous result of band’s activity (there are some notable differences in quality and playing through the whole album), and I’d love to see them continue! Highly recommended, because I believe there are some people like me who appreciate such kind of music; others should give it a try.

From the depth of obscurity comes a british neo prog band formed in mid '80's in Glasgow named very suggestive Comedy of errors. I heared about this band , I guess 2 years ago, since then I've tried to get some of their works but without luck, utill 2 weeks ago when one of the most important members from PA help me with this relase.. On Musea records is an album of the band with same name , but is the mini album released in 1986, the pieces from there are featuring here on this more like a compilation from 1988. So about the music of this underrated band, this neo prog of the highest calibre, not because they have very complex compositions, but because they are unique in sound and in manner of interpretation. I mean the keyboards are absolutly killer on some pieces, the first three tracks are essential to listen, Emperor's Clothes, Rule Britannia and Tunes Of Glory, such positive attitude, up tempo arrangements and solid musicianship I hardly heared on a neo prog band from the '80's. They don't sound like Marillion at all, not even the singer , they are more towards Iq and It Bites, that special atmosphere combined here and there with some more popish elements. In the end a highly recommended album of this unnoticed band from UK neo prog scene. They didn't hit big time, strange because this release is a worthy purchase for sure.4 star esy, excellent work.

In 1986 Comedy of Errors released a second demo, the ''Mini album'', defining their style, with Rog Patterson from Twice Bitten as producer, while the track ''Time there was'' made it to the V/A ''Exposure'' compilation, and in 1987 another 5-track demo, ''24 hours'', was recorded this time with Barry Henderson on bass in the place of Mark Spalding, who had switched to guitars after the departure of Mike Barnard.The last two demos of the band are combined in the collection ''Comedy of errors'', released in 1988 on MSI.

The first five tracks were together in the ''Mini album'' from 1985 and what actually surprises the listener is the excellent production.All the good ingredients of quality neoprog are here: A good British singer,catchy grooves,melodic guitar work,plenty of energy with keyboardist Jim Johnston recalling often TONY BANKS' symphonicism with his playing,but all tracks have also a definite poppy taste here and there.Closer comparisons are PENDRAGON,TWELFTH NIGHT and compatriots ABEL GANZ.The next five tracks belong to the ''24 hours'' demo and the sound seems not to have been remastered from the master tapes.So,the production is quite underground and raw,while the style differs a little.Now the band sounds a lot like early PALLAS and also QUASAR,this means aggresive neo prog with symphonic elements,haunting vocals,less melody and bombastic synths.Both styles though are enjoyable and recommended.

''Comedy of errors'' is a nice documentary of this relatively unknown act's early days and although the songwriting is not always great and the band' style is not very personal, the result is satisfying to say the least.

Tunes of glory?

This self-titled 1988 release from Comedy Of Errors is actually not a proper debut album but instead a compilation of demos recorded during the band's early days in the mid 80's. Initially formed in 1984, Comedy Of Errors were struggling to make a name for themselves without much success over the course of a few years in the 80's. After having recorded a couple of shorter demos they quickly faded into oblivion. This present CD compiling some of the band's early recordings was released in 1988 without being sanctioned by the band. Though, many I guess consider this to be the band's debut album.

The music found here is rather typical British Neo-Prog in the style of Pallas and other usual suspects with a bit of a Pop edge. The melodies are generally strong, and the sound quality is not bad even if far from optimal (which is not surprising given that it is demos we're talking about here). This is thus an enjoyable listen. Maybe if the band had been given a proper chance back then, these songs could have been better recorded and developed further into something a bit more potent, but this compilation is not bad as such as it stands.

Interestingly, the band very unexpectedly got back together again in recent years to record a new full length album called Disobey released in 2011 (which the band themselves now consider to be their debut album). While this new album is the best place to discover Comedy Of Errors, this much older release is quite ok. Only one of the songs from this older album reappeared on the recent one - namely, The Student Prince, part 1 (three further parts are featured on Disobey).

Recommended for those with a special interest in the Neo-progressive sub-genre and its history