LEGACY

Since there were little reviews for this album, I quickly looked at some of them. I must say that I agree with Lor68 for a good part of his comments. This album is definitely not the best one to enter into their catalogue. It will hold the beauty of some great tracks fom the past but at the same time it will display some long and boring instrumental parts like in "Legacy's Executor "or "Key Of Life" although that the latter sounds a bit better.

The worst could have been imagined while listening to "Proemio", the short opening number, but it was hopefully only a short deviation. "Celestial Garden" and its opera intro vocals and classical mood all the way through is another difficult moment for me.

One of my fave is "Magic Of Love". During these seven minutes, all the spectrum of Cast complex music is represented. Rhythm changes, great and heavy keys, at times some light piano style sounds, great drumming and spacey passages. This is Cast at their best.

Like in "Personal Status". A shorter piece, featuring a similar riff as on "Watcher Of The Skies". "Take A Look Back" and its PFM oriented vocals (another trade mark for Cast) is the third good number.

"Beneficiaries" will be the occasion for the band to show its great musical skills. An average intrumental piece although diversified and dynamic. All the contrary of "Living Dreams" another (very short) instrumental. Starting as "Horizon" with an acoustic guitar intro and ending up in a pityful middle age madrigal.

The next two numbers of this album won't do anything to raise my overall feeling. Very average. The closing one "Conclusion" will join the group of the three best songs of this album to make it a fourth one.

"Legacy" is absolutely not their catchiest one (this still remains "Third Call", IMO). The very extended format (over seventy-two minutes) is prejudicial to its interest. I rather prefer a good fifty minutes one than an average seventy minutes long album. It is far too monotonous to catch the listener's attention during its full lenght.

If you are just interested to approach the band with only one release or two, I can not suggest any better choice than their pretty good compilation "A View Of Cast" and their excellent live album "A Live Experience". Pick up one of the two since all the numbers (except one) from their compilation effort are featured on the live one which is more complete thanks to its double CD format.

Two stars for "Legacy".