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Corvus Stone - Corvus Stone II CD (album) cover

CORVUS STONE II

Corvus Stone

 

Crossover Prog

4.03 | 338 ratings

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FragileKings
Prog Reviewer
5 stars For a while there wasn't a day when I didn't see two or three reviews of this album on the PA home page. Deep in my own exploration of progressive rock, I felt almost annoyed by new releases that begged to be heard. IQ's "Road of Bones", Opeth's "Pale Communion", two of which I managed to acquire, and Iamthemorning's sophomore release and the latest and last Pink Floyd, neither of which I have gotten a hold of yet but will get there. With my CD budget blown again for another year, Corvus Stone would have to wait. Except that some kind soul (you know who you are) felt that this album would be right up my preferential alley and offered to send me a copy if I thought I might like it. Good gravy! Talk about the gift of music. This was indeed an album I could enjoy.

I swore I would avoid a track by track run down, but this album is rather rich in really good progressive ROCK with lots of special flavours and assorted delicacies carefully placed on the table so that one may eat to his filling of tasty musical morsels not too hot and not too peculiar. If you are a fan of Deep Purple, seventies Rainbow, The Flower Kings, and other bands, perhaps Camel, with some great emphasis on guitar and keyboard playing supported by an active bass and drummer with good breeding, then this album should appeal. These guys are out to enjoy making music first and foremost. This is their band and it's for them. If you want to ride along, jump aboard!

"The Simple Life" is a surprising opening song that leaps straight into the music. I can hardly place where I've heard something like that before when the vocals come in and I am reminded of Peter Banks era Yes. Keyboards and guitar grab my attention but listen to that bass rumble.

Now a waltz with "Early Morning Call". Organ and some guitar moments that utter the name Blackmore. And do I detect a touch of old Camel in there? Or is it the Flower Kings? Perhaps something else. The moment has passed. A very pleasing piece of work, this instrumental.

And now for a great rock guitar instrumental that plays through a couple of different moods before a haunting desert theme emerges. But wait! This is not an instrumental. "Boots for Hire" features vocalist Stef Flaming. I picture a black-clad, rugged, middle-aged frontiersman with a black Stetson. But hey, Ian Gillan could have sung this as well. Not the young Gillan. The present day Gillan. The instrumental section transforms into a heavy prog number with a quick tempo and organ, almost like some classic proto-metal bit from the early seventies before the music glides smoothly back into the eerie desert music. "Sun is gone and all is brown" might recall Zeppelin's "Kashmir". This epic track takes a long slow journey through a desert twilight atmosphere before closing with some spooky keyboard sounds.

"Sneaky Entrance in to Lisa" is a short instrumental with a Spanish guitar feel and piano. It's pretty and it's over pretty quick. We'll have to wait to later to hear more of where that was going.

A revving engine, the screech of tires, and a Deep Purple salute. "Purple Stone" gets the Purple references on the table. "Yes, we like Deep Purple." And in case you are still in doubt, check out the artwork on the back of the CD booklet. It's four purple crow heads carved out of Mount Rushmore! Corvus Stone. Purple Stone. There you go. Two singers here, and my guess it's Blake Carpenter whose voice is the one I don't care too much for. The music rocks and rolls and there's organ and wah-wah guitar. A very cool and busy bass-line comes in twice. The lyric "Will I make it round the bend" has such potential for referencing insanity but instead concludes with, "or will I die?" Wait. Is this referencing "Trashed" by Black Sabbath? And then the Deep Purple tribute line, quoting a favourite classic also about a car. I have to admit that this is the first track that doesn't warm up to me like the rest of the album has. But it's shorter than my review of it.

Now another instrumental with "A stoned Crow meets the Rusty Wolff Ral" and a beautiful intro with acoustic guitar and gentle waves of synthesizer chords. It moves into a mid-tempo rock number that brings about some surprising time signature changes and some delightful snippets of weirdness. There's a flute-like synthesizer, heavy guitar, and organ. This piece will keep you guessing which way its going to turn for the first couple of minutes before the pattern establishes itself. A showcase mostly for guitar and keyboard but don't ignore the rhythm section.

"Lisa has a cigar" has me at a loss to describe the music. Something European. It's very nice and then it's over. And then there's "Mr. Cha Cha" which has a 1974 rock rhythm feel and has me thinking this could be Deep Purple meets Nektar. This could also be a salute to Rainbow Ritchie Blackmore, late seventies? Nice organ. And a change of pace with a strong mid to late seventies rhythm and synthesizer. That bass doesn't want to stay in the background. I'm suddenly reminded of "Son of Alerik", the bonus track on the "Perfect Strangers" reissue.

Tinkling piano, bass, guitar wails, and string synthesizer. Vocals come in. Strangely, this music brings to mind the band Iona for some reason. Interesting and a surprising sudden close. Such is "Dark Tower".

The much lauded "Scandinavians in Mexico" is not the Sonoran party track I had come to expect. The Mexican groove is modest and more like what a Mexican rock band might have striven for. Instead, just enjoy the lively rhythm and the synthesizer and guitar lead work. A great fun piece of music nonetheless.

Oh, look! A bass intro with a bit of mystery, accompanied by acoustic guitar and synthesizer. "Mystery Man" begins and the keyboards and guitar take turns trading quick exchanges. I find the lyrics a little obvious but the vocals are strong. The music takes us through various changes with slow acoustic parts and some harder heavier sections.

I wondered if this next song "Camelus Bactrianus (Tuolla tuonnempana)" would bear any resemblance to the music of the band Camel but it doesn't match what I know. It's sung in Finnish and the exotic language sits well with me because it suits the slow and sombre music at the start. Are we witnessing a march to a funeral? Then there's a change a we get a cool switch to an upbeat rock groove. I love how the song winds down, too.

"Uncle Schunkle" might just get my vote for coolest instrumental in the album. While we get lots of Colin Tench's master rock guitar, the rhythm in this track moves very coolly. The bass is really in there! And there are these abrupt changes in the groove of the rhythm that almost don't get noticed until after the change has occurred. Yes, this is a great piece but it ends too soon. Or is that a timely end after all?

A slow acoustic piece that sounds very early seventies in approach. Not quite Yes this time for "Eternal Universe" but with some good vocal parts. There's that sweet flute keyboard sound. At the close it sounds like the song will change gears and really get moving. Perhaps an Andean flute and guitar bit? But no. It just ends. Perhaps there was an opportunity missed here?

"Moaning Lisa" is actually a ballad in the original sense of the word about a woman whose father drowned at sea. As a result of her heartbreak she becomes a target for lustful men and eventually she joins her father, leaving her ghost to haunt the sea winds. The song features a blend of acoustic and electric with a hint of Spanish flavour, though there is more to this than my musical background can describe. The vocals have an accent which adds to the foreign feel. Surely though, even with all its non-traditional elements, this song can't help but dropping into a heavy rock passage that reminds me a bit of the band Armageddon, who cut one album in '75. This is a well-developed epic piece that keeps taking the listener into new territory. Catch the flowers-in-the-hair hippy folky passage before it returns to a Spanish ballad and then moves into an almost dance-able folk rock conclusion. Great music!

The final song is another Finnish one and a pleasant folky acoustic number, a suitable conclusion for an album that has given us plenty of rock and Spanish-flavoured acoustic music as well.

This album has proven to be a pleasant journey worth repeating anytime. No, I was not dancing in the aisles from the start. This is not an album for pulling off a few great tracks and whistling them in the shower and then getting back to the rest later. Like a hot spring spa, this is an album to sit back and soak up in order to appreciate. The person who sent me this was right in guessing this was my groove. It is an album I enjoy listening to from start to finish, and though there are a couple (only a couple) of tracks that I feel are just alright, I don't feel like skipping them.

Someone said the album was eclectic but I don't think so. Corvus Stone is a rock band with a strong seventies feel in the most positive way, and that can be heard in almost every track. The colour comes from the Spanish or other sounds and styles they merge so nicely with their music, meaning it's more than just a 70's tribute band. This is really good upper level rock with a flair for blending in folk and ethnic music.

I'm not giving this five stars for the simple reason that I am really now looking forward to their third album, hopefully to come in two year's time. I have yet to hear the debut, but based on the reviews and what I have heard here I strongly believe that Corvus a Stone will be one of those bands that really hit their mark on the third album. Many great bands produce their most historic work on either their third album or their third with key new members (Deep Purple, Yes, and Genesis for example). Corvus Stone are on the right path to producing one of the most phenomenal albums of the decade. If this was close to that then I have especially high expectations for Corvus Stone III!

FragileKings | 5/5 |

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