Enchant

Here is a band that does not get much attention around here.  I only have one album and I think it is incredible.  What is Enchant's best album?

I've not listened to them in quite awhile, but I like them.  Not sure that I can pick a favorite without giving them all a fresher listen. 

'A blueprint of the world' is very Marillionesque, and truly a good companion to fish-era Marillion, albeit more dynamic. Steve Rothery is featured on some tracks. A 5-star album in my book. it showcases the skills of their drummer, Paul Craddick.'Time Lost' is a collection of previously unreleased songs, the first four songs very melody-oriented, recorded around the 'Wounded' sessions, and the last three at the time of 'Blueprint of the world', more technical-oriented. They are all excellent. A best of both worlds in other words. This is the one I give the more plays.

wow, i forgot how hated is Break around here...

Rivertree wrote: I only know 'Tug Of War' and liked it very much some years ago .. I do remember ... and have Live at Last DVD, which is excellent imo

lucas wrote: 'A blueprint of the world' is very Marillionesque, and truly a good companion to fish-era Marillion, albeit more dynamic. Steve Rothery is featured on some tracks. A 5-star album in my book. it showcases the skills of their drummer, Paul Craddick.   'Wounded' is more prog-metal oriented than its predecessor (say, Vanden Plas meets Rush). This is a very "elegant" album, more "mature" than the previous one. Another 5-star album. Another album I would recommend in this same vein is Altura's 'Mercy'.   'Time Lost' is a collection of previously unreleased songs, the first four songs very melody-oriented, recorded around the 'Wounded' sessions, and the last three at the time of 'Blueprint of the world', more technical-oriented. They are all excellent. A best of both worlds in other words. This is the one I give the more plays. 'Break' was somewhat a disappointment after the previous two gems. It is a blend of pop and grunge. I sold my copy after a few listens and don't keep good memories, although some tracks were quite decent.   'Juggling 9 or dropping 10' saw them even more pop-oriented, with the grunge factor dropped. It is a good album, nice to listen to on a sunny day, Ted Leonard's vocals are impressive and the music is "light". One complaint maybe : the pompous keyboards, especially on "paint the picture". A good companion to this album is Paul Craddick's project Xen, the album '84000 Dharma doors', featuring all his Enchant mates. This was the last album with the great Paul Craddick.   'Blink of an eye' is more aggressive than 'juggling' and the very first to feature their new drummer, Sean Flanegan, more "classic" sounding than Paul. Benignus is not there anymore as well. Enchant continue to give a melodic approach to their music, but the balance with prog elements is now fair anew, especially on the instrumental track. It features prog-metal songs in between more sweet pop songs. Doug Ott provides some virtuosic solos and Ted still shines with stunning vocals.   'Tug of war' is in the same vein as 'Blink of an eye', a blend of pop, neo-prog and prog-metal.     Before joining Enchant, Doug played in a short-lived AOR-oriented band, Chapter, not bad, but recorded with a very bad sound. Could appeal to fans of Saga. Doug's typical signature was alreday present.

so many reviews in a nutshell , will follow up

lucas wrote:   'Break' was somewhat a disappointment after the previous two gems. It is a blend of pop and grunge. I sold my copy after a few listens and don't keep good memories, although some tracks were quite decent.

I have the first three and the latest.

Time Lost is my favourite Enchant Album. Funny that it is only a collection of previously unreleased material, but turns out to be their Masterpiece (at least in my opinion)

lucas wrote: Cristi wrote: lucas wrote:   'Break' was somewhat a disappointment after the previous two gems. It is a blend of pop and grunge. I sold my copy after a few listens and don't keep good memories, although some tracks were quite decent.   What grunge in "Break" are you talking about? I don't get it.    the title track sounds grungy in the chorus.   And this review is also confirming this fact (I kept only the sections highlighting the grunge influence) :   Review by Cesar Inca SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Heavy Prog Team [...]There may be a slight flirtation with standardized melodic rock and grunge-like guitar riffing in places, [...]From then on, things begin to get a bit average wih the sequence of tracks 4-7: the hints to the new closeness to pop-rock and/or grunge are more evident in these items. The same goes for the very sentimental 'Once a Week'[...]