IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK

I'll start review with something urgent. Not so usual, but there it's needed. It's nice to see so many people giving this album five stars, when (sad thing) there is this "Love To Love You" track. I know few people who listens to this album and are instantly skipping this track. I do it too.

So I suppose there can be masterpiece (you are so overwhelmed by your feelings that you don't see any flaw, or any bigger flaw, so you rate it with best mark. But when you hate one song of five here (even the shortest one), things are bad. I wonder what was others thinking about this song (I don't read other reviews before writing mine, because of I would be directly influenced minutes before writing and that's not right, I could be even using other's words and that's even worse), because you can 1)like it 2)hate it, or 3)don't mind it at all. When you choose first choice, you know that even you like it, it's not prog. First I hated it, but then I turned to third option, for sake of improving my way of approaching the album.

"Golf Girl" is nice introduction. I'm so glad that this was first song (and album) of Cantenbury style I've ever heard. Because when you (by accident) choose harder, more difficult to approach album as your first, things can be much worse. For example you can begin to look with despect to entire genre. Music here is (some may say weak) tender. It's the beauty of poetry. Even in this song about golfing, there is something beautiful. Maybe flute whistling solo instead of guitar. But this tea thing seems like pretty British stereotype. Nice one though.

"Winter Wine" presents us far better music and lyrics. Although I like Golf Girl (sole this idea is song which reminds fantasy topics. I'm reading lyrics now (good to understanding it at all) and what was my surprise, it's some kind of dream vision. Even better, various themes while dreaming about things he can't normally do. After some glasses of red wine. Well, maybe white, because winter is also white, but red wine is more suitable (and widespread). From 3:35 to 5:55 expect wonderful solo, last half of it is guitar solo, one of the magnificent ones which you can listen over and over again. Because of softness which is

then some unknown track which I heard that is here, but never found it. Probably something not important (childish, I know). By the way, the rest of album songs were written by Sinclairs, this one is by Pye Hasting. He has nice vocal, indeed. But writing skills on this album not so good. Well, it's worst song by my opinion here. Indeed, this song has refrain, to worse it all.

"" reminds me much of The Lord of the Rings, book version. By my opinion its intoxication is even bigger than Winter Wine, which is quite remarkable.

And final epic is one of these epics which you'll like for sure. Nothing to complain about, maybe it uses parts of previous songs (except Love and Golf), changes styles like roller coaster, one song calm, another fast and wild. And then calm again. It's probably purpose.

5 stars