IQ

Sadly, I can't compare, as I know just this album, so don't expect wonders here. You never do you say ? Great, we understand each other then.

As whole, 62 minute long musical piece (this music sounds quite consistent to me), it's quite pleasant and uplifting album, even some parts are this dark "happy" mood, sometimes wandering into unintentional optimistic state (last song), where these waves of joy can be almost too much. Yes, it's not so big issue, there are others (Moon Safari's Blomljud), where whole music is based on this, but that's the point, it is based. Here, I frankly don't know what intention of this album is, but am trying to enjoy it. And it's possible, easily. But to think of it as a masterpiece, I would need more.

4(+), seems like IQ (from what others are saying) are still "in the mood", making good albums. Something like Pendragon, right ? But done differently a little bit (even not so different).

I sense overly present try of IQ to make something interesting "again" (I suppose), something that won't fade away, almost convulsively to be honest. It's not so relaxed album as I would like it to be, but its qualities are here, we all who owns this CD can hear them, but I don't feel like someone without doubts. Something is not wrong, but because it's not big issue and I don't know what it is, I'll leave it to be and will be fair.

One thing is for sure. Every time I hear this album, I'm expecting nice experience and I get it.

I have read many negative review on this 3rd album of IQ, people arguing this is not sufficiently prog-oriented. Even if I should admit this album is more on the POP edge, I disagree with the qualitative evaluation made by some others reviewers. This album is GOOD. Let me explain my point...

Yes, Peter Nicholls's replacement by Paul Menel had certainly an influence on the IQ productions of the late 80s and on the trends of producing more mainstream albums. However, I don't understand why a "prog-related" album should have a lower rating as long as it delivers on its promisses.

This album is not a pure neo-prog one (as opposed to all the Peter Nicholls ones, both the previous one (The Wake) and the latter ones (starting with "Ever"). It would rather compare with the Phil Collins period of Genesis, the albums of an Alan Parsons Project or from superbands like Asia. None of these references has a pejorative meaning to me even if they could hardly qualify for being typical prog albums. These are good POP albums but that still hold in them some of the ingredients of prog that makes them more elaborate than the average POP songs while leaving them a chance for a radio-hit and (to get back to Nomzamo) Paul Menel delivers a rather good singing (with a more clear voice, even if less expressive, than P. Nicholls) and IQ's musicianship stays intact.

To summarise, this is an excellent album that I would recommend to prog lovers that wants to make a break and do some "easy listening". This is "only" prog-related but once it is agreed, it delivers on its promisses. I still listen today with pleasure to this 1987 album that sounds to me less outdated than its predecessor (the classical and appraised "The Wake"). Yes, there is "Still Life" in this album !!

Rating : 4 stars.

"The Wake" is often viewed as one classical in IQ's discography as well as in the neo-prog foundations of the '80s.

Being an amateur of neo-prog in general and of IQ (amongst others) in particular, it is somewhat difficult for me to go against the massive appraisal of this album...

... However, in my view, the statement that "The Wake" is one of the best albums of the two transition decades (80s-90s) seems to me a bit exagerated.

On one hand, this album arleady holds in it all what makes the sound of IQ specific (lyrics and crispy voice of Peter Nicholls, sonic landscape and theatral music taken from the classical Genesis period while more dynamic, intelligent tracks construction,...), it also came in a period where prog was (nearly) dead. Finally, it brings to the audience some beautiful tracks including the "Magic Roundabout" and the "Widow's Peak", the latest being still today one of the biggest success of IQ. So undoubtly this album shouldn't be overlooked.

On the other hand, some other tracks of this album (as "Corners") are still too standard prog (IQ staying still too close of its masters to express fully), this makes this album sounding a bit outdated when listening to it after a more recent one (Subterranean, Dark Matter,...) even if we already recognise all the talent of IQ group members. Further, the production (at least the original record of 1986) lacks a bit of dynamics and don't pull the songs to their best (for instance, "Widow's Peak" sounds better on the compil "The Lost Attic").

Overall this is not a bad album and, given its place in the prog rock history and the classical song Widow's Peak, I would still recommend it. However, it does not match the latests production of IQ 3rd period (starting with Ever, after return of Nicholls).

Rating : 3.5 (I round it up to 4 for the "historical" context).

The earliest IQ album I've heard, and if the progarchives ratings are to be believed, their best to date. Ironically, of the three of their albums I've heard so far, this one is my least favorite. Unlike Dark Matter, there is no one song that really lifts the album up. This album is roughly as good as Frequency, to me; great music in typical Neo/Symphonic manner.

The stronger tracks on the album include Out of Nowhere, which rocks really well with both the keys and the guitars, and Further Away, which has some lower points that prevent it from being the best it could be, but has some of the highest moments on the album (especially some of the keyboard parts). Came Down finds Peter Nicholl's singing with a bit more delicacy than on the rest of the album, but there's really not much else I can think to say about it.

Other than that, this album doesn't sound particularly different from the other IQ I have heard, so there is not much more to say. Another good three star album.

I like prog rock bands that know what they have to say and don't beat around the bush. There are the prog rock acts like to take as long as they can to say what's on their mind, filling an album with 80 minutes of music (or doing a double album), inserting as many epics as they can along the way.

IQ does no such thing here. With 50 minutes of music including the longest song of their career, the 24 minute epic "Harvest of Souls", we find IQ performing some excellent Neo-Prog music.

The opener is the 10 minute Sacred Sound, which is great while playing but rarely leaves much of an impact afterwards for me. I actually appreciate the three shorter tracks that follow it a bit more; Red Dust Shadow is somewhat sad, while You Never Will and Born Brilliant have an almost arrogant selfish feel about them. In fact, this album seems to have sense of loss in all of the lyrics.

But no matter how strong the first four tracks are, the highlight of this album is Harvest of Souls. There is no denying the similarities between this song and Genesis' Supper's Ready. But Supper's Ready was an excellent song, and IQ have used those similarities quite well in this case. The song easily switches from parts with high energy to quieter parts. There is humor used in this track, as in Supper's Ready, but it has a bit more bite to it instead of whimsy. Of particular note for this is the section where Peter Nicholl's mocks plastic surgery culture.

On that note, I once again must bring up the point of Peter Nicholl's voice. I am not huge on it, and outside of this music I think I would dislike it. Yet somehow, it works well with the music that IQ writes - or perhaps the band writes music that works well with his voice. Either way, there is a charm to the way the two work together that makes his voice not only bearable, but I can't really imagine any other voice working as well here.

My favorite IQ album so far, and Harvest of Souls is good enough to (just) bump this album up to a 4 star rating.

I've been putting off reviewing this one for some time. Although I've listened to it many times, and in fact enjoyed it, I've been hard pressed to find a rating for this album that felt fair to me, so I've been listening to it again in the hopes of feeling some sort of certainty about what rating it deserves.

The music on this album is quite good. It is your typical prog line-up of keys, guitar, bass, singer, drums. Nothing about these guys is really new to the prog scene; this type of neo/symphonic prog has existed for decades. But IQ has been doing it for decades themselves, and are quite good at it. They deftly move from quieter tracks to tracks that rock harder, from acoustic guitars to electric. The music flows together quite nicely from song to song on the album, and "Closer" closes the album quite nicely.

I am still on the edge about Peter Nicholls voice. On initial listening, it always seems to be the weak point of this band, yet it never feels out of place. If I had to describe his vocal delivery, it would be very deliberate, and a little harsh. Of the IQ albums I have heard so far, his voice sounds the smoothest on this one. It has less of the harshness that he has had on previous albums, and I have to admit that it makes his voice sound more appealing to my ears, especially during the softer parts of the album. Yet the abrasive-ness of his voice had it's charm; I can't imagine listening to 'Harvest of Souls' (off of Dark Matter) without it, for it is part of the music. Luckily, his voice still works with the more aggressive bits on this album.

I can't comment too much on the transition from Martin Orford on keys to Mark Westworth, for I haven't heard a lot of IQ's older stuff yet. It doesn't seem to have done the band any damage, the songwriting on this album is as good as it was on anything else I've heard by them. If anything, I would say that Mark has helped IQ gain a stronger identity, for I hear a bit less Genesis in them than I did previously.

The album has few high points (the opening and closing of the title track, the chorus of Ryker skies, etc.), but other than that it is actually remarkably even. There aren't any low points at all, really. I think that's what makes this album so hard to judge. While it is definitely an enjoyable listen, there's really nothing exciting about it to expound upon, nor anything dragging it down to complain about. For that reason, I give it a three star rating.

Whilst Neo-Prog may not be everyone's favourite Prog sub-genre, there are a few stand-out examples that appeared during the first half of the 80's that endeavoured to keep the Prog torch aflame - I.Q.'s 'Tales From The Lush Attic' being one such statement. First hitting the shelves early in 1983 on a private label by the name of 'The Major Record Company' , the album featured 5 tracks of expectant progressive technicality. The opening piece is an epic titled 'The Last Human Gateway' - it clocks in at just over 19 minutes (according to my stop- watch - no CD lover here....). The album offers a styling of music that many have grown to love - the highly imaginative ideals of a band whose name 'Genesis' meant more to their taste than mere 'top-forty trash' at this time in their lives. Moogs and Mellotrons aplenty, the guys in this band put their money where their mouth was when it comes to instrumental proficiency. All musical members of this band shine - fantastic Keyboards ( yeah, Tony Banks is a great influence....), Guitaring (yeah, Steve Hackett is a great influence), vocals (yeah, Peter Gabriel is a great influence). Drummer Paul Cook does recall Phil Collins or maybe even Rush's Neil Peart, and Bassist Tim Esau blends Mike Rutherford's melodicism with Chris Squire's ego. All-in-all, an amazing blend of talent. I struggle to find any weak moment here; odd-time sigs, natural changes of tempo, way too many highlights to mention - at least to my ears, this is a 5- star album. I have held it in high regard since I acquired it 15 years ago, and recently decided to give it another whirl. MAGNIFICENT !!! Open your mind and enjoy. 5 Stars.

27 years after their debut album UK veterans IQ show that they are still a band with the capabilities to create solid albums. And while they aren't exactly covering new grounds here, the territories covered are done so in an excellent manner.

Symphonic prog of the atmospheric variety is the name of the game here, with warm, rich multiple layeres of keys and synths as a key feature. From the piano via organ and mellotron to what I suspect are modern synths, the dreamy, rich tapestries produced by the variety of tangents are utilized in a manner few others are able to. The sound is full of life in a way few others are able to replicate. And with the other strong aspect of this band's output, the distinct emotional yet slightly detached lead vocals, these two dominating aspects conjure up distinct and strong moods between them.

Whether utilized in darker sounding themes or lighter ventures, supported by crunchy guitars or wandering light guitar licks, it's these two elements that carry this venture. And while the truly stuning and superior efforts may not be around this time - the ballad Life Support actually being closest to this as far as I'm concerned - this is a strong album nontheless, and one that will be appreciated by fans of this act as well as followers of Neo-Progressive rock in general. Rock solid from start to finish, but no diamonds this time around.

A different approach for a different line-up, whose music inspiration sometimes is inferior than their past, but We can regard it as a remarkable effort anyway!! The departure of Mr Orford- the keyboardplayer- has been quite important and problematic too, but also the presence of Andy Edwards in the place of Paul Cook (however afterwards rejoning the band), as He's the creative rhytmical machine of IQ on drums, is a sad lack!! Otherwise the choose of their melodies and a sensible music approach, make this live tour a typical example of their new mood... the opener is a classic IQ tune, with the same impact as within the previous albums and a solid structure; instead "Life Support " reminds me of Steve Hackett in the best period concerning the early Genesis, even though when I listened to it for the first time I expected something a little bit less derivative, but it's a minor defect after all...The "Province" is an original track enriched by means of the guitar solo, while the unique commercial or mainstream song is entitled "Ryker Skies", reminding me of "Calling all stations", but at the end I can smile at their new interesting Tour and a remarkable long live career too, after all!

You can buy it, anyway!!

Back in '85 I was a huge Marillion fan. I remember being nailed to the ground when those first chords of Misplaced Childhood rang from my brother's room. I never checked out IQ though and judging from this album I didn't miss much. Marillion was obviously in debt to Genesis, Floyd and Hammill but at least they sounded professional and quickly evolved into a personal style. A clone of the imitator was the last thing I was waiting for and that is exactly what IQ is.

There are a few differences with Marillion. First of all, if there's one enjoyable aspect about this album then it is the huge Steve Hackett influenced guitar playing of Mike Holmes. Steve Rothery was more of a Gilmour/Latimer man. Mike Holmes is Hackett and he does it quite well. Also Martin Orford is good on keys. They are too loud in the mix but generally provide a good background atmosphere, very reminiscent of 'soft-Genesis' ('75-'77 era) with a slightly melancholic twist.

The biggest distinction with Genesis / Marillion is the voice of Peter Nicholls. It is not reminding me of Gabriel and Collins at all. Unfortunately that is not a good thing as it is really unsatisfying and at times grating. On a track like Outer Limits he can hardly hold his tone. His delivery is rather stale and lacks sense for melody. As a result the vocal lines are very predictable and unimaginative. Easily the worst vocals in prog since Chris Squire ;)

Given the general appraisal I had really hoped I would enjoy this album but it is second-rate really. Wish I could close my ears to the vocals and just listen to the lush keys and guitars, that might make it deserve one star more.