BRIEF NOCTURNES AND DREAMLESS SLEEP

Aha, well my last review set the cat amongst the pigeons so to speak, however this CD is a different kettle of weasels I can tell you! I have given this CD some serious "earage" in the past few weeks and although I think I was enough impressed to persevere (from spin 1), I wasn't expecting this CD to rate more than perhaps a high of 3.9? . How wrong was I...! Quite simply, I think that tracks 3 (A Treasure Abandoned) and 7 (Waiting for Me) are the best tracks that SB have written and performed! Back that up with the nearly as brilliant 6 - "Something very strange" and the (merely!) very good tracks 4, "Submerged" and 5 "Afterthoughts", plus the very listenable 1 "Hiding Out" and 2 "I know Your Secret" makes this a MUST HAVE SYMPHONIC PROG CD! Anyway the first two tracks are closer to progressive metal than the other tracks so it sort of makes you think that it isn't going to be a symphonic prog CD at all then WHAMMO - A Treasure Abandoned , some of the keyboard (sumptuous synth arpeggios a-plenty) work is sublime and the lyrical content is far less mawkish than the ex-members output! I think that some of this reminds me of Camel (one part especially) but on the whole I think it's far more good at refreshingly attempting to hit the correct symphonic spots in my brain. Could perhaps do with track 3 or 7 being extended out to the epic length that such a CD deserves, but I can't give this anything but a FIVE because two tracks are as good as anything I have heard for four or five years! Go buy it!