COLORS II

It's been a while since I've had a reaction quite like this to a new album.  At this point, 10pm on 8/21/21, I've listened to Fix The Error about 10 times, Revolution In Limbo about 4 times, the entire album twice (while driving or doing yard work), and once all the way through with total undivided attention, reading along with the lyrics.  I've not given this much attention to any album in several years; many reasons for that I'm sure. There have certainly been many worthy subjects for this level of scrutiny in the past several years, but none have affected me this way yet. There's no doubt that the timing is of upmost importance: if  this album dropped in any other time rather than at the (sort of, maybe) tail end of a global pandemic, during which I've had no opportunity to view live music in person for over a year, maybe it would not catch my attention as much.  (Also, there's the fact that I'm supposed to see them live in 6 days; though thanks to COVID I'm prepared for a cancellation.)  There have been a couple of other new releases that I've been enjoyed recently, but nothing has hit me like this. Nothing.

How long has it been since I've gasped at the majesty of what I was hearing for the first time?  For me, that happened in nearly every track, and most pertinently in Double Helix, Revolution in Limbo, Prehistory, Bad Habits, Turbulent, and especially Human is Hell. Really really loved Human Is Hell.  Really, a lot. A large amount. It's amazing.

How long (if ever) has it been since I read along with lyrics that described my inner and outer conflict over the past year and a half so accurately?  It wasn't too difficult to craft a story to fit, even a little, the horror of this time, but this is so miraculous in its execution that I found myself, gasping. At the risk of overstating this (given that I've only listened a few times), the emotional and intellectual responses I had with this album have brought to mind the response I remember when first listening to In The Court of the Crimson King, Close To The Edge, The Wall, or Farewell to Kings.  It certainly reminded me of the excitement that happened with new releases way back in my youth.  It's just wonderful, and I can't wait to see them next week, hopefully?