MUTINY UP MY SLEEVE

With this album Max Webster would establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with the Canadian hard-rock scene along with big brother Rush. A more mature version of the band emerged they would still manage to keep their partying side about them as they put out this next excellent album. A mix of typical 70s hard rock with a heavy whiff of progressive scent this album is certainly one that needs a few listens to get used to.

With Mutiny Up My Sleeve Webster started to use a nice heavy amount to synthesizers that they had already tinkered and flaunted with on their debut which had made the music so infectious and appealing to the prog heads. Insert Kim Mitchell's excellent use of the strings and you've got yourself quite the album. This one has a bit more slow moments than past albums, but it seems that they've really gotten used to doing it by this point. Ultimately, while less interesting upon the first few listens than their other albums this one becomes the most rewarding disc after enough spins thanks to the music depth it has to uncover.

Though slower and more ''mature'' at points, this album still has its heavy moments. After all, what would Webster be without them? The opener Lip Service is a midpaced track with some very catchy keys while The Party picks things up with typical Webster prowess and tells the story of our lives as they recap a couple of degenerate teenagers that we can all relate to somehow (''We're all here to be reckless!/We're all sleazy and easy to please/Dreamers and schemers on the loose!'').

From there on out, however, it's that more meditated and intricate sound. Starting with Astonish Me the keys get turned up a notch and Mitchell's voice becomes unfamiliarly emotional and lo-key as he belts out the lyrics. Most of the other songs on the album feel like this including the melancholic Water Me Down and the superb Distressed as well as the pseudo-instrumental Hawaii. However, it's the final and longest track, Beyond The Moon which takes the cake on this album. A mixture of what the rest of the album has to offer and hiding it behind and (almost) wall of sound while incorporating a number of stellar solos and high-points, this one comes close to rivaling Webster's opus Lily from their first album.

This is a great hard rock album with enough progressive leanings to make a very prog-rock sounding record. Several listens are needed to get into this one, much more than previous or later records, however it's worth it since (as stated before) this is likely Webster's most rewarding effort of their painfully small discography. 4 stars! Recommended to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of rock in their prog. or a bit of prog in their rock!

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