AVALON USA

The reason was I checked out their by far best track (probably ever) first. This one was called Once stood a Man (notice the one word difference of this albums title). It was a truly amazing track and I was convinced I had found myself a jewel here. But when I heard the other songs my admiration disappeared just about completely. I wish I had done things the other way around but of course the final result would have been the same. Biggest problem with Avalon USA is the singer really. Dan Bonadeo has a below par voice which especially becomes obvious with live performances. And it ruins a lot of the bands sound unfortunately. The instrumental musicians are much better but I wouldn't want to call them top notch either.

In the end Once Stood a Man is a stand alone case. A stand out track indeed which made me decide for the three stars after all, though rounded up. If it wouldn't have been on this compilation it would have gone down with two stars for sure. Well, okay: the suite and Gulag aren't bad compositions either. So the three stars are deserved probably. But be warned: if you are critical on vocals better stay away.