RushFan4's New CD Thread 11-Monarch Trail - Skye

A few years ago I did a string of 10 threads in an attempt to divert Forum attention away from the usual suspects of Genesis, Yes, Porcupine Tree and the like.  In an attempt to renew my interest in posting in the forums and to share newer lesser known prog music within the PA community I have decided to revisit this thread idea by creating a thread for Monarch Trail's debut album titled Skye. 


Here is a link to the album's PA page.  http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=45373

Monarch Trail is the new band project for Ken Baird, who previously has released a number of progressive rock albums in his name.  Skye is sure to appeal to those of us who enjoy keyboard/synth-led music of epic proportions. Skye consists of 4 songs bookended by the 11+ minute Luminescence and the 20+ minute Sky Above The Sun.  The album has garnished 4 and 5 star reviews from some notable PA Reviewers and has drawn comparisons to bands like IQ, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, and even Rush. 

Here is a link to the band's website where additional information can be found about them.  http://www.monarchtrail.com/  The opening song, Luminescence, can be streamed from SoundCloud here on their website.

The album can be purchased or downloaded from Amazon.com here, where it is grossly underpriced for downloading purposes.  http://www.amazon.com/Skye-Monarch-Trail/dp/B00K0OLIP2/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1409750479&sr=1-1&keywords=monarch+trail+skye

The album had been available for streaming on Progstreaming and I had hoped to provide a link to that, but it does not appear to be available anymore.  I am not aware of anywhere else where the entire album can be listened to.

There are currently 7 reviews and another 68 ratings without reviews, so a number of you have heard this album, and will hopefully participate in this thread to discuss your likes and dislikes regarding this album.  I look forward to what I hope will be an interesting discussion.


In case you are interested, and missed the previous 10 installments of the new CD discussion thread, please check them out here at these links as I am more that happy to go back to these threads and further discuss them with anyone who is interested.  Pretty sure that many of them or locked from inactivity, but I am sure that our friendly neighborhood admins would be happy to unlock them for anyone who wishes to discuss an album further.

My guess is that this album is not going to change the minds of those who are as a rule immediately turned off by anything listed under Neo prog.  I'd say that this album could also be considered as part of the crossover as well as symphonic subgenre as well but the Neo subgenre is probably a best fit for this album, and I think that this album should definitely appeal to those of us who still like to hear music that has what I consider to be that classic prog structure and sound.  

rushfan4 wrote: My guess is that this album is not going to change the minds of those who are as a rule immediately turned off by anything listed under Neo prog.  I'd say that this album could also be considered as part of the crossover as well as symphonic subgenre as well but the Neo subgenre is probably a best fit for this album, and I think that this album should definitely appeal to those of us who still like to hear music that has what I consider to be that classic prog structure and sound.

Edited by tszirmay - September 03 2014 at 22:30

HolyMoly wrote: Glad you decided to resurrect this series of threads.  The forum could use more recommendations/discussion threads about lesser known current releases. Listened to some brief samples and think the keyboard sounds are well employed and tasteful, a good sign for a neo-prog type group.

progfan915 wrote: Hey, I've got this album!  It's quite good. I bought it based on the strength of the only Ken Baird album I have, which was Orion. Orion is fantastic and highly recommended. Skye is great musically, but I only wish it had Sue Fraser sharing vocal duties, as she was amazing on Orion. But Skye is still very impressive and I hope to see more frequent releases from Ken/Monarch Trail.

That sounds interesting.  I've come to like female vocals within the prog sound.  The vocals on this album are good, but would probably have been enhanced with the interaction of a female vocalist.

Some good stuff on there Scott. I am a huge fan of Shadow Circus and Lobster Newberg. I'll have to keep checking in on this thread.

Gave this another spin this morning.  Still enjoying it.  I definitely need to check out Ken's solo albums.

I am kind of bummed, because it had been on Progstreaming so I had intended on linking that to here, but when I went to link it, it was gone.

Great. That is tomorrow's lunchtime listen sorted

lazland wrote: Great. That is tomorrow's lunchtime listen sorted

Thanks Steve, that list would let you hear half of the album, and you can hear some bits of the "epic" from the collage on soundcloud.

Hope you enjoy it!

Ken