TONY PATTERSON & DOUG MELBOURNE: WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU...

It's such a shame that this has been roundly ignored. Okay, it's not exactly on the cutting edge if you want fast time signature changes and a ukelele at the front. For me this is an exquisitely recorded album of lovely soulful songs, multi layered keyboards and the best guitar solos I've heard for a while. It's a fluid piece of music so it's not just a bunch of unrelated songs. I'm not clear what the story is about (but then I've never cared about such things anyway) with the artwork is suggesting a good old fashioned Philip Marlowe based film noir. (love the artwork).

I am a big fan of Tony and Doug's work--both collectively and independently: they both create incredibly rich, mature, and engaging, almost-nostalgic texturally-lush prog/NeoProg that seems to feed my soul better than a lot of the other Retro- and NeoProg artists out there. We've Been Expecting You is the duo third collaborative effort since hooking up for a track ("Angel and the Dreamer") on Tony's 2016 solo release (his masterpiece), Equations of Meaning.

1. "Don't Lose Your Soul" (5:58) Peter Gabriel has handed the reins over! It's like PG singing a cover of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" over a disco version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley"! Even in the third minute when the full complement of rock instruments join in the feeling is of something out of the techno-New Wave 1980s. Great section in the second half of the fourth minute with the "Don't lose your soul" line being sung repeatedly by the "choir" of background vocalists (all Tony?) over a progression of two great repeating guitar-and-Mellotron chords and then the synth solo to take us out. Not a bad start! (9/10)

2. "Darkest Hours" (4:59) Gabriel-esque marimba opening which builds with a couple other textural instruments (including programmed drums and bass) over which low Tony and high Tony sing a nicely harmonized melody. The palette and hooks are quite seductive: earworms to be sure, thought the chorus is a slight step down from the verse set ups. The lush piano-enriched "darkest hours" section after the second chorus is nice but the sudden ending is a bit disappointing (though understandably necessary). (9.3333/10)

3. "Brighter than the Sun" (6:12) a main motif that is constructed a little too closely to that of Tony's "Beneath a Perfect Sky" from his 2016 masterpiece, Equations of Meaning, that is made way better by a rather stunning guitar solo from one Stewart Colley that rivals some of David Gilmour and Steve Hackett's best works. This guitar solo (which starts at 3:55) is not to be missed! Too bad the vocal performance and chorus section are so plagiarized from Peter Gabriel. (9/10)

4. "Small Boats" (4:22) Another song that feels as if it came straight out of a classic Peter Gabriel album. The piano play is slightly different but the ambiance, production finish, and vocal are unmistakably Gabriel-esque. Gentle, child-like though rhythmic piano play opens this one before Tony enters to sing in an incredibly Peter Gabriel-like performance. Great subtle shift in motif for the third minute that ends when solo synth and bombastic drums and synth strings washes explode onto the scene for a part of a minute. Then we're back to the simple piano arpeggiations for the finish. (8.875/10)

5. "Sandcastles" (4:58) Okay, the hooks don't work for me, the sound palette is nice (despite the sad attempt to imitate the soft percussive bass notes of Tony Levin's ChapmanStick) but the song--with its feeble MIKE AND THE MECHANICS-like chorus--never produces anything but Phil Collins-like pop schlock. The instrumental passage is too meandering and multi-directional and I dislike the "clapping" sound given to the snare drum hits. (8.75/10)

6. "Grace"(4:56) Wow! If this isn't another Peter Gabriel song--straight out of So: unmistakably like a blend of "Mercy Street," and "Don't Give Up," and "In Your Eyes." I don't like the blatant copying (nor the clapping with the chorus). (8.5/10)

7. "Oceans Apart" (4:28) ocean shore wave and seagull sounds open this before synths enter to enrich and luxuriate the scene. After about two minutes of this beautiful, atmospheric introductory exploration, a lone piano enters, playing a four-chord piano sequence, while Tony sings in a Peter Gabriel "Here Comes the Flood" voice and style. But, there is no break out emotional crescendo--there is barely any rhythmic progression (only provided by some piano play in the second half). That's it! It's pretty, but kind of like an interlude/bridge between action scenes. (8.875/10)

8. "Spies" (4:56) tuned and untuned percussion are programmed side-by-side into a weave to back Tony in one of his multi-voice vocal performances. What I like most about this song is how totally original it is (despite it being very easily mistaken for a "new" or previously-unreleased Peter Gabriel song). Too bad those powerful drums, strings, and horns aren't "real"--are computer produced. (9.125/10)

9. "Heal" (4:29) sad to see another PG carbon-copy used to finish this song--and this would be one of those PG songs that would never be a hit but would be considered kind of a filler like "That Voice Again," "Love to Be Loved," "Fourteen Black Paintings," "My Head Sounds Like That," or "The Drop." Very disappointing. (8.6667/10)

Total Time 45:18

Not as great as Tony's atmospheric 2016 masterpiece, Equations of Meaning but he and Doug have teamed up to make some of the most best atmospheric crossover prog since Peter Gabriel. But, that being said, with only two original, "non-Peter Gabriel" sounding songs, this is by no means an album I would recommend unless you are craving some "new" and original "old" Peter Gabriel music.

B/four stars; an excellent production of lush, atmospheric Peter Gabriel-like Crossover Prog. If you like your Peter Gabriel, you'll LOVE this! If you think the world is better off with just one Peter Gabriel, you may find yourself reacting contrarily to Tony & Doug's album.

Once very blue moon, a song appears out of the mist and just permeates your mind, humming the darn chorus like a child in a candy store. 'Come to me, my love', as I am a full-fledged sucker for romantic emoting, being a lifelong and devoted Roxy fan. When I heard "Grace", I feel immediately under its spell and fell to my knees in adoration. Now, I have enjoyed Tony Patterson's solo efforts (Equations of Meaning is a classic prog album), or collaborations with Brendan Eyre as well as his recent one with Doug Melbourne, mainly because his voice sort of reminds me of some archangel guy in the earliest days of the Bible.

This album is a collection of nine meaningful songs, deeply emotional as Tony has gone through incredible personal hardship and loss, using music as a healing process, which it certainly always has been. The melodies are scintillating examples of mood, atmosphere and feeling, kept in a relatively simple yet elegant vessel of dense keyboards, electronics and percussives. The focus is not on blazing soloing and braggart instrumental prowess but on maintaining a specific groove, letting the words and voice do the rest. Naturally, with such a seductive voice, the spotlight shines on Patterson's ability to express his inner most pain without resorting to hysterics or overt theatrics, yet in a highly cinematographic, almost film noir feel (a hint is the cover artwork) of underworld cloak and dagger Argy bargy (note: my favourite British word, by a mile), with a sprinkling of mystery, sorrow and seduction.

From the opening chapter "Don't Lose Your Soul", the die is cast, and the journey begins. A swirling lament with sparse instrumentation, the duo create a minimalist platform for some truly soulful world class singing, intense, heartfelt and honest. Soft and gentle, unyieldingly sentimental. The shrilling synth flutter is simply perfect, showing a high level of musicality. With the addition of mellotron, I am conquered there and then. Kalimba-notes emit a distinctive Caribbean feel on "Darkest Hours", a happy go lucky whistler walking on the dock of the bay, palm trees swaying in the nighttime breeze. A cameo piano etude adds a jazzy laid-back serenade to the arrangement, yet the lyrics paint the opposite picture, with torment, despair and sudden solitude in the air tonight expresses with surrender. Brilliant. On "Brighter than the Sun", the proggy pace remains utterly sedate, reflective of having to live under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation that collides with memories where everything looked cheerful and carefree before the tragedy. Suavely orchestrated and symphonic, a sizzling guitar from guest Stuart Colley comes wandering through the haze, brighter than the sun, providing fear and hope in equal doses. A compelling track that somehow comforts profoundly.

Floating on a mesmerizing vocal, "Small Boats" evokes the plight of fleeing refugees risking their lives on flimsy, often overloaded crafts that barely keep afloat, some even sinking with all hands-on board. Escaping persecution, fearing torture and even execution, hungry and afraid, as well as venturing into the unknown. A tragedy of staggering proportions and one faced by this author as a child by courageous parents who fled oppression. Truth is the world was more prepared and organized in 1956 than in the 21st century. Political lack of will and organizational ineptitude are to blame. The beach beckons on "Sandcastles", sonic footprints splashed by the gentle tide, hypnotic and impressive, with a style and vocal that rekindles memories of Sting and white regattas, handclaps in bikinis, daiquiri organ fluttering and the relaxed meandering of leisure and sunshine. Jazzy and pulsating. The mellotron-laced anthem "Grace" is a song for the ages, one that I fully intend to return to for inspiration and perhaps even salvation. If you can't find love in life, at least it can flourish in music. A tremendous anthem of lost shadows, beaming smiles, soaring emotions and an eternal yearning for affection. The genuinely heartfelt vocal is not only first-rate, but it also veers right into the soul like Cupid's arrow of love. Tony knows what a feeling passion really is. Masterful guitar solo by Steve Brown to seal the fate. Back to the sandy shore, crashing waves and squawking seagulls on "Oceans Apart", as well as a connection with "Small Boats", a mournful organ surge pointing at a scattered sadness, an ornate piano in the wavering spotlight. Another impossibly beautiful melody, and the impeccable interweaving of tracks into an entirety of reflection is an ear opener that surely cannot go unnoticed.

Perhaps an ideal James Bond theme of the future, "Spies" has all the dynamics of a 007 thriller, laden with lace, pace, seduction, action and thrills (pussy) galore, occasional wordplay, lots of casino innuendo, friend and foe, morse code PPK, and when the brass kicks in, John Barry must surely be smiling up in Secret Service heaven. The original snippets are clever and clearly an homage. Killer track, spectral? A sonic extravaganza on the finale, "Heal" is the definition of cool, chill music with dense electronics, a relatively minimalistic groove where mood and atmosphere dominate the restoring process, Tony's raspy voice nevertheless elevates easily into loftier sweetness, as the panacea kicks in. Dealing with pain and loss is the price humanity pays for caring and loving, where patience, fortitude, courage and devotion will always rule the day. The cinematic arrangement has just the right amount of pomp and ceremony to find the way to happiness. Eventually?

With sterling production values, profound sensibilities expressed with confidence, and lush melodies so attractive it boggles the mind, we have 9 gorgeous songs, each and everyone a highlight, a precious sonic gem, with enough sonic diversity to keep the listener hooked, lined and sinkered, whatever that means! 5 Patience patients