HONEY ON THE RAZOR'S EDGE

Alan Reed was the singer of Pallas during its glory days around the turn of the century. I've gotten quite fond of his sentimental voice and powerful, yet whimsical way of singing. On his second solo album we hear a type of crossover prog that is part pop-rock, part neo-prog. The record has an outstanding production sound and the first three tracks are really good. 'My Sunlit Room' has great synth works and counter melodies. 'Razor' has tribal rhythms and a nice suspense, the poppy vocals really shine here. 'Cross My Palm' is a great slow burner with strong guitar lines - perhaps the song that sounds most like Pallas. The fourth song 'Leaving' is an acoustic ballet type song and here the pop elements get a bit too cheesy for my tastes. I just don't believe the in honesty of a chorus like that. The nine-minute song 'The Other Side of the Morning' is again very mellow, the opening reminds me of Genesis' acoustic tracks like 'Cinema Show'. With a little less feelgood moments this would have made a nice track, the ending section is quite impressive. Towards the end the album the pop elements keep disrupting my enjoyment, though the rockin' 'The Covenanter' has a nice original up-tempo flow to it. Had the album kept up the level of the first three songs - which you should add to your playlists - I would have given it four stars for sure. Recommended to fans of Pallas, crossover prog and the lighter side of neo prog.