MEDICINE MAN

I just read in the band description that Clive Nolan is actually taking part in this fairly unknown band to me. A surprise and almost a guarantee for quality at least to some extent. And the quality of this release lies in production (there he is again: Karl Groom) and execution. Personally I'm less enthusiastic about the compositions. This is very accessible neo prog, so accessible that it becomes borderline prog. The vocals (well done by Paul Wilson) are very present and are partly responsible for the almost poppish sound and style. The instrumental aspect is too minimal for me as is the grade of progresiveness.

Another feature of this album is the lack of one or true highlights where the songs are concerned. This is a pretty equable album which also has the big advantage that no songs will have to be skipped when you play the album. And if you check it out in the store or wherever you can tell by listening to one song whether or not you are willing to buy it.

Everything considered the rating isn't very hard in this case. I believe you can give this two stars if you are harsh and critical about grade of progressiveness. But I usually judge the quality of melodic music and that's not bad on this album. Despite the fine execution and production though this album is not really good enough for four stars so three is the only option here for me.

I'm afraid my review will make the album's rating lower, but I can't lie to myself - this is not a Masterpiece for sure, not an excellent addition and not even a good album for a Prog fan. I expected something of SHADOWLAND's kind, and I won't say I got an hour of head-crushing Avant-Metal instead. No, MEDICINE MAN's debut is a solid work in best AOR-traditions, with memorable choruses, power guitar chords and wonderful synths layers, not to mention flashy solos from both Nolan and Groom, who are the Masters of their work. But sorry, there's too little dynamics and it's hard to tell one track from another (especially in the middle of the album). It's not like it's bad or something, but it's really more a Hard-AOR/Neo-Prog album, so don't set expectations too high. Nice and enjoyable stuff, but a little bit too derivative and average even for Nolan/Groom duo. Only for die-hard SHADOWLAND- and-the-likes fans.

Interesting side project by such luminaries of the neo prog movemnt such as Clive Nolan and Pete Gee (Pendragon) and guitarrist Karl Groom (Threshold). But curiosly enough, it does not sound like any of the aforementioned bands. In fact, aside from the keyboards introduction of the first song, neither Nolan nor Groom seem to try to emulate anything form their former groups. The sound is mostly a kind of AOR music with some progressive undertones here and there. Something between Asia, For Absent Friends and Saga comes in mind during the listening. I really like Ian Gould's voice, he does a great job through the whole CD. If you like pop songs with sophisticated arrangements and strong progressive influences you'll sure enjoy this album.