MINDREVOLUTIONS

I've tried to like this album. I like the previous two well enough, and this seemed promising having a big 25 minute epic on it. But the formula of the first two modern Kaipa albums (as opposed to the 70's version of the band) seems to have run its course here. Everything on this album runs together and there is nothing in the individual tracks that makes any of them memorable after hearing them. The playing is good, the singing is decent (though Patrick's style gets on my nerves on this album), but the writing just seems to be rehashing the previous two albums without maintaining the distinctiveness of the songs on those. There are a couple tracks that stand out, like The Dodger and Last Free Indian, but even those would have been lesser numbers on the previous albums. And the epic just drags and drags and seems to lack coherence, even though I usually am drawn to the longer pieces. I'm afraid Kaipa has lost me here, and from what I understand Stolt felt the same way as he is not going to participate in Kaipa anymore. I can really only give this two stars, as it the description for that rating on Progarchives fits this album perfectly, Collectors/fans only (and even they may be dissapointed with this as I was).