THE GARDEN

I have to admit - I started my listen to Unitopia's "The Garden" (totally a stumble-over find) while on tour of East Coast in USA in December. I was so set back by the title track, I couldn't listen to the rest of the 2-CD set. I played that track while in my hotel room in Buffalo, N.Y. at least ten times. I immediately went to see if video was available on YouTube and saw the title track advertised from the Live concert, and proceeded to play that several more times. If this compilation were to be based on the title track alone, I'd have given it a five-star rating. I have seen so many misleading comments on Mark Trueack's voice being compared to Anderson's, Collins', etc. when I found it to be incomparable to anyone other than himself - and maybe a little tonal resemblance to Francis Dunnery of "It Bites" ( also an Ausie-based band). I checked into further CD's and found like many other bands with great earlier recording, they had turned further away from earlier roots. I myself would give this compilation of works more credit than some of the earlier reviews, but I guess it's just a matter of preference. I have seen many reviews on PA in the past that sent me scrambling for certain recordings as described, only to be disappointed. I am a huge fan of the melodic progressive genre, and the title track from this gem is spot on for me.