ROBERT WEBB

UK composer and musician Robert WEBB is perhaps best known for his tenure in progressive rock band England, whose sole album "Garden Shed" from 1977 is a heralded production. He's been and still is involved in a number of different bands and projects, both inside and outside of progressive rock circles. "Liquorish Allsorts" is his first ever solo album, released through the Finnish label Seacrest Oy in 2014.

"Liquorish Allsorts" is truly a bag of mixed allsorts. The material covers multiple styles, and some of them do come with an overall sound that firmly places them in the time period when they were recorded and/or created. All in all, this is a rather enjoyable mix of allsorts, and while there are the token item here and there that doesn't come across as tasty as the rest (which is always the case for a well assembled bag of allsorts), the end result is a fairly good one. I'd recommend this album to those with a fairly widespread taste in 70's oriented progressive rock first and foremost, and in particular those from that segment who also enjoy the occasional forage into mainstream oriented territories.

This is that kind of album that it must be listened with the heart and in a quite melancholic state of mind!Robert Webb is a personality of the old British prog school and he was involved many years ago in this movement with his own band called ENGLAND!.LIQUORISH ALLSORTS is a nice collection of old and new songs,well mixed and balanced,and offers quite a wide spectrum of the great componistic skills of his author , passing through times and trends!Of course,there is a serious difference between the older and the newer songs in terms of the sound quality and structures of the compositions,but the whole ensemble is fascinating,diverse and catchy!!!KIMMO PORSTY the instigator of this project is the one who had the inspiration to push Robert to make a selection of his recordings and also to bring to day some new material,and that was a fantastic idea!Mr Porsty is a very active and busy music producer and musician, he is the mastermind behind projects like MIST SEASON...PAIDARION and THE SAMURAI OF PROG!Speaking about TSOP,we must mention that in this project,Mr Webb has a very important and significant role,the title of the album- THE IMPERIAL HOTEL is the title of and old composition of Robert Webb's former band- ENGLAND!Coming back to this nice album LIQUORISH ALLSORTS ,what we can apreciate and admire is the cinematic vibe of the music,the feeling of peace and serenity and the care for a beautiful atmosphere created by a special music with a strong capacity to suggest to the listeners some great visual images!On the new songs there are involved the guys who participated to the release of THE IMPERIAL HOTEL,and we feel a great musical connection between all the competent and skilled musicand involved in ths project!It's old school prog,with a vintage sound and classic prog rock structures,with a massive accent on old keyboars and percussion instruments,midtempo or slow rhythm orientated!The artwork,the booklet is sensational too,with great photos and informations,and the producer of the album deserves all the credits for this inspired work too!Overall,a great musical discovery,something for what you have definitelly to be in the mood and state of mind to do it and to be connected for such marvelous music,but in the end,the satisfaction is guaranteed,because music seems to have endless ways of expression and manifestation!All my respect and admiration for Mr Webb and also for the instigator of the project-Kimmo Porsty from THE SAMURAI OF PROG!4 strong and well deserved stars!