FURTHER OUT

Canadian artist Ken Baird makes his agenda clear from the very first notes of opening track Spinning Wheels, where the long sustained guitar notes and rising piano runs immediately remind of driving on the open highway. For me, specifically, it elicits the thought of driving through the plains more than driving through the mountains, but that's perhaps an irrelevant note.

The music is built up on a backbone of guitars, keys, bass and drums - in short, the "classic" prog lineup, but in many ways it sounds unlike anything else in my prog collection. Ken's unique voice, which isn't powerful but instead endearing for it's honesty, is often the driving force behind the music, but that is not to imply that the instrumental aspect of the album suffers. The drummer provides a lot of energy, the keys provide texture, and the distinctive guitar playing is probably the strongest source of the open highway feeling of the album.

This is a song based album, and the compositions are generally strong. That being said, not a whole lot stands apart here. In general, the songs are all chilled-out sounding, with a few exceptions (the haunting childrens voices on A Thousand Years is one example). My favorite part of the album, though, is the title track, especially the synths/drums combo in the middle. The synths create some great electric energy, with the drumming popping in with a cool beat before giving the synths space; then the jump back in with another fill, and it just works amazingly.

Overall, a very good album with a distinctive sound that, as it stands, is unique in my prog collection.