THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS

The sky moved sideways! It really did when I truly listened intently to this unique recording. "The Colour of Air" instantly seduces in vaporous caresses, assorted sonics spew a dreamy electronic horizon, far ahead into the wild blue prog yonder where certain musical heritage lessons were well learned and most of all, the spirit soundly understood. Pink Floyd's legacy is unparallel in music as thousands of bands worldwide were spellbindingly enthused by the psychedelic bliss, at times even with a "religious' fervor that verged on fanaticism. "I Find That I am not Here" where the suave vocals appear at the perfect time, building like a Mason, far from the murky Waters and on the Wright path, alluring, cosmic, floating like a fantasy blow up doll in an new swimming pool, where Time and Money mean really very little and one can Breathe again , finally! "Wire the Drum" chugs along like a monstrous derailed train , Colin Edwin's bass bopping uncontrollably , Wilson unleashes a guitar foray with laser-guided menace but the bass is still conducting the charge, savvy percussion work adding spice to the brew. A mega PT track this is! A tortured chaos ensues with devastating audacity, guitars slashing with flair, the dastardly bass still cajoling almost insidiously, swiftly veering into another illuminated vector-sector as Barbieri squeezes out some insane keyboard electronics, more Eno than Rick Wright . "Spiral Circus" bathes in surreal swaths of effects, heavily ambient until the acoustic guitar strums into the spotlight , showing the sheer musical knowledge that Wilson so clearly possesses, a master of discovering new twists on an old scene that many had thought arrived at an inspirational dead end. The gentle symphonics are spellbinding, audaciously attractive, fondling the beauty in a deep synthesized embrace. From this point on, the level of musical luminosity only increases but by quantum leaps and bounds as "Stars Die" is a thing of agonizing splendor catered to lovingly by a melody that eschews all the agony and ecstasy of life and sadly, death. Wilson has the detached timbre in his passionate singing that only further enhances the lyrical depth of his craft, disenfranchised to a degree but nevertheless astutely mirroring the apathetic society we now see self-destructing around us. Well, Wilson knew then (in 1994) what we know now! That proves that he is a "thinking" artist as opposed to a mechanical musician, experimenting with moods and atmospheres, as espoused on the mindblowing "Moonloop", a concert favorite where Wilson soars into the most far-flung psych-drenched furrows one can possibly conceive, a lesson in controlled insanity, wrenching wretched passions, again there's the hypnotic Edwin bass intertwining sinuously, pointing ahead .A mood change halfway, directs into a more sinister chill out, doom-laden riffs, swarthy synth tapestries draping the way, progressively (did I say that?) increasing in volume, breadth and width, foreshadowing their future harder direction. How can anyone not be enthralled? Again, Wilson knew! "Dislocated Day" provides a return to the bass infested groove jungle albeit in a more upbeat tempo, raging yet again, a Wilson fret solo winking at old Carlos Santana, howling some semi-blissful pain. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" is pure unadulterated psychedelic ennui that would have made Syd smile , sort of a dreamy disturbance with detached determination, sonics galore. The Sky Moved Sideways again with a second part suite beginning with the longest track "Is.Not" , a 12 minute space-rock adventure that would easily compete against all the Gong/Hawkwind/Eloy/Grobschnitt/Floyd/TDream catalog, forging into new textural territories that even have strong classical structuring, a "galactic symphony" as some would like to better call it, yet still spicing it up with some devious sections such as "The Great Gig in the Sky" style aria refrain sung here so briefly by Suzanne Barbieri but adroitly passing the torch to an incendiary guitar solo that sizzles in phosphoric euphoria , a Wilson pedigree moment, I assure you! The man is a phenomenal axe slinger, powerful, technical and extremely gifted in diversifying his palette of sound (Fripp has been around in No-Man, so Wilson again, knew!). "Off the Map" is the final "au revoir", a brooding Gilmouresque escapade into large slabs of bluesy redemption, a whirlwind storm that has no shame, no ego, no fear of any blank planet or any deadwing in the skies, ominously foreseeing no in absentia while the fans await the "next big thing"! Wilson will keep them coming!!!!!!!! The sky did move sideways , it did, I saw it! I heard it and I felt it !5 firmaments askew