CHRONOS

Some bands just can't escape the "clone" label. The fans of these bands put on blinders when others point out that the group sounds eerily like that other more famous artist. They will pick out little differences, like "that guy plays a Rickenbacker bass while thig guy plays a Fender". Or, "you won't hear a guitar solo like this from that other band". Well, sure, when you have a completely different set of musicians, the music will have some differences, no matter how hard you try to imitate.

And so it goes for Starcastle. This collection does nothing to dispel the catcalls of "Yes clones!". On nearly every track, you can pick out the Yes classic that was mined for riffs and ideas. There are obvious refernces to Perpertual Change, Close To The Edge, And You And I and even The Gates Of Delirium. Terry Luttrell does a fair Jon Anderson imitation. Gary Strater has studied Chris Squire well. Herb Schildt sounds somewhere between Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman. Only the guitars can't come close to matching Steve Howe's brilliance.

That said, there are worse bands to imitate than Yes. And these guys do a good job of it. If you run out of Yes albums to purchase, and need a fix. Try these guys, and this compilation might be a good start.