SMALLCREEP'S DAY

I might say that with better production this might be a much higher rating. Actually the cool thing is that the synthesisers on this album are actually being played by Anthony Phillips. He was just as good as Tony on the keyboards (okay not quite), and he's a great guitarist as well. But back to Rutherford, he's made a double personality album, one side is very 'prog' and the other side is semi-prog. I don't doubt the melodic capabilities, and 'Noel McCalla' is a great singer, it's interesting to hear an R&B singer dealing with prog, but it would be nice to hear it more clearly. The production buries the vocals deep in the mix, and the whole production is messy. I've never had a lyrics sheet to this album, my first copy was a battered 2nd hand vinyl, I paid $5 for it and it didn't come with a nice, shiny lyrics sheet, nor did it comes with a colourful, glossy one either! A lot of the vocals are hard to understand and I just keep waiting for someone to throw some hooks at me as I listen to it, but that just doesn't happen.

Still, there are strong tracks towards the end of the 'semi-prog' side, 'Moonshine' is a good prog/blues-rock tracks, similar to 'deep in the motherlode', while 'Overnight Job' is an exciting song with a catchy rhythm, and 'Every Day' is a nice, semi-acoustic song. Rating 2.5