ROOT

— First review of this album —

I first came across Root whilst reading some reviews on this website. I delved a bit deeper and managed to find the track 'Our Town" from the latest CD "Birds eye and tiger striped". On the strength of listening to this song i decided that Root had something, so proceeded to order all the available CDs.

Once they arrived i decided to listen to the first CD, "Dreams of Green", but ended up listening to all 7 in one marathon headphone session.

There is just something so appealing about the music......it drags you in...its stimulating, thought provoking and restfull all at once.

This music is all the more impressive when you discover that David Kendall, the man behind Root, does this all himself....plays all the instruments, sings, writes, produces, does the artwork.

So to "follow the dawn". The first track started with a nice bass and keyboard intro. Something bugged me once the vocals started, there was something about the timbre and toning of the voice that reminded me of someone.....it took me until about half way through the track before i could think of who it was...Gerry Rafferty of "baker street" fame. There was that smokey, world weary feel that fits in perfectly with the music. There is also a bit of Steve Hogarth in there.

The musicianship is excellent throughout, spacey keyboards, Gilmouresque guitar backed with solid bass and drums. Kendall excels on guitar, his soloing is tastefull, elegant, atmospheric and yet powerfull when required, never self indulgent. Theres a great acoustic interlude at the end of "think it over son".

Most songs are in the 7 to 9 minute range with the shortest being just over 5. The quality is consistent throughout and contains elements of space, neo and prog metal particularly in some of the guitar playing. Hogarth era Marillion would be comparable, but there are also elements of Genesis, Pendragon and IQ.

Even ignoring the fact that this is a one man band it is a great release. It just draws me in and leaves me wanting to put the next CD on straight away.

Give it a try....you might find as i did that you end up getting Roots whole catalogue!

— First review of this album —

Fourth studio albun of the British musician David Kendall , and compared to the other that I had opportunity to listen ( "Poles Apart", "Bird's Eye & Tiger Striped") it is that more pleased me. In "Resolution", Kendall presents strong influences of bands of Psychedelic/Space Rock style, as for instance PINK FLOYD , however, for almost all of the tracks that compose the work are notable Crossover Prog's influence, mainly in ALAN PARSONS PROJECT line. This influence of the crossover prog is larger in first CD than in the second, however, it continues present. In this second CD I could verify still some musical passages a little more aggressive and heavy , as in the tracks 2 "Falling", 5 "Flying Blind." In general, the disk is quite pleasant of listening, but it doesn't present great instrumental moments. My rate is 3 stars!!!

One day, I really want to write a feature on young English men who churns out a lot of prog rock albums without getting recogniced by the wider prog rock community. There is a lot of these young men out there now. A lot.

David Kendall from Leicester, East Midlands, England, has released no less than seven albums under the Root name. This album is the seventh and the latest one.

Root is listed under the Psychedelic/Space Rock category. But this album is not Psychedelic/ Space Rock by any means. Yes, there are some Pink Floyd elements here, but which bands does not have Pink Floyd elements in them ? Answer on a postcard, please.

I guess we are here talking about a change of style from David Kendall because this album falls into the Neo-Prog category with both legs. It reminds me a lot about the Polish band Believe. But Marillion is also a good reference.

David Kendall does everything on this album, to my knowledge and he does it very well. The music is guitar based with support of bass, drums and some tangents. David is also a superb vocalist in the Neo-Prog vein. He is clearly very talented and he is selling himselves and his abilities well short.

The two opening tracks Our Town and Lay Down are superb. The rest of the material is not that good, I am afraid. But the songs are always full of small, intricate details. In short, this is an album bordering to being a great album. I am somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but falls down on 3 stars due to a couple of less impressive songs. But David Kendall have my approval and my admiration for this album. Now, get out and spread the word.

3.5 stars

Root started out just like any regular band, however the leader, David Kendall, soon found out that this was not the way for him, so he decided to take Root into his own hands and compose and play all the parts himself. He has been doing this for more than ten years and in 2007 we saw the release of his last album, entitled Wooden Hill.

On this record, David Kendall mostly uses standard space rock and psychedelic tricks, but occasionally he also employs a more melodic approach, which sounds similar to neo to me. There are also elements of some new influences, like Porcupine Tree. The overall impression is generally good, with the emphasis being mostly on solid song-writing and creative arrangements. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's still very rewarding.

We hear some very exciting guitar playing on this record. Even though Kendall plays all the instruments on this album himself, the guitar seems to be where he excels the most. His style sort of reminds me of David Gilmour and Steve Hillage. The rhythm section (Kendall and Kendall) is very solid, with especially Kendall contributing some excellent parts, although Kendall isn't too shabby either. The keyboard playing, while not as impressive as the guitar, is still fine and usually pleasant.

The usual problem with lesser-known artists is the vocal and I was afraid this would also be the case here. However, David Kendall shows us that he's a very capable singer with a nice and unobtrusive colour of voice.

To my ears, Root sounds very fresh. Although the ideas aren't entirely new, you still have a sense that Kendall is really trying to create his own style. The emphasis is on the melodies and arrangements and not so much on emulating anyone. I find this far more interesting than several newer and more established bands. Kendall has some interesting musical ideas, but his forte lies mainly in strong guitar lines and melodies that are very easy on the ear.