TURN OF THE CARDS

This is, once again, an excellent album by this prog outfit from England. As before, Annie Haslam's voice only helps but to accentuate the majestic feel of the album, providing a very enjoyable listen. One complaint though: there seems to be a discrepency in the bands diversity. You will often hear the piano introduction, the piano in the development, the piano at the end, the piano everywhere in each song. It seems that John Tout can't bring it upon himself to incorporate organ or synths into his music, which becomes a problem after listening to six songs. This is a problem that is apparent also on Sheherazade, but is rectified by the presence of the orchestra which adds dynamism to the busic. This orchestral "feel" is most apparent on Mother Russia, which is definitely the highlight of the album. Overall, I wouldn't want to say that the album isn't good, and I have given it 4 stars for a reason. The interplay between musicians is terrific, and the overall result is not overly bombastic. If it piano that John Tout plays, at least he plays it well and this is most obvious on the opener which IMO has a better piano intro than a Trip To the Fair. Grade: B+