THE TALL SHIPS

Having been an It Bites fan since Big Lad... (I remember actually waiting for Once Around the World to be released), it's been an immense pleasure to have the band back. When the Lights Go Down was a good opening move for the new lineup because the live versions of old IB flagships were impressive and totally re-energized by John Mitchell.

But of course, it's the new stuff I've been waiting for. And now that it's finally here - oh my God, as the opening track humbly states. The very only reason I'm not giving this five stars is the ProgArchives.com definition of a five-star album: a masterpiece of progressive music. I don't think IB is, and never has been, progressive; they've been It Bites, period.

What we have here is an extremely energetic and sometimes dizzyingly beautiful music with lyrics to match. The style falls in the familiar IB triangle, with one corner in prog, one in hard rock and one in power pop. Since John Beck obviously has always played a major role in writing the music, the songs and the sound grow organically from the Dunnery era IB, while John M.'s presence and signature style bring the music to a new stage.

I loved Francis' voice and guitar, and I'm very happy with his classy solo output. But John Mitchell somehow connects with me even more; I loved his stuff with The Urbane and especially Kino, and he brings his uniquely warm, romantic and slightly wistful sentiment effortlessly into IB. Dunnery's sometimes sarcastic and/or mystical musings are replaced by Mitchell's more intimate and everyday, but no less deep, sentiments and ideas, and for me, that makes It Bites v.2 even better than the original one.

To be noted is also the fact that this album was recorded as a trio, when Dick Nolan was relieved of his duties on bass. Both John M. and John B. have recorded bass tracks for these songs, and I must say both they and the overall performance have an extra focus and energy. It's like a soccer team playing with ten guys often exceeds itself; the loss of one player makes the others try harder.

I cheer the band for producing a remarkable album, I thank John Mitchell for sending a very nice personal e-mail to my wife who sent the band fan mail, and I only regret that I live in a country where It Bites probably never will play live. Darn ;-)