THE STORY OF I

This morning I planned to post a discussion about Patrick Moraz in my personal prog blog. I usually started the discussion by posting the review that I made before on this site. But I was shocked knowing that I have NOT reviewed this excellent (?) album yet. How come? I have known this album long time ago, in fact when this album was released I purchased the cassette version and it blew me away musically. Don't get surprised that the ballad 'Best Years of Our Lives" was once a major hit in Bandung City when I took my engineering degree. Well, it's not really major but one famous radio kept playing this song in 1979 - 1980 so this song became quite popular at that time.

Is it an excellent album?

In fact, it's been years I assume that this is an excellent album of progrock and the best that Moraz has ever made. But this morning, as I play this album back again I come to realize that it's not just excellent, but it's a masterpiece album - or five stars album. Why? Let me explain in detail as I have robust reasons to support my conclusion.

First off, look at musically.. You would never find any band or artist that had made the kind of music Moraz made with this 'The Story of I'. You cannot call it simply symphonic nor jazz-rock fusion. There are many components and styles that Moraz has masterfully made this album as a masterpiece creation. Yes, there are extensive uses of percussion throughout the album but try compare the style! You would find your efforts useless as there had never been any music that is similar with this album. There are components of space music here, with some latin flavor and of course jazz-rock fusion plus classical music influences. I have never been able to manage listening this CD half-way through as it has always been the whole album - in its entirety! Why? It's because of the experience that I feel, listening to this album is like listening to one long-duration song as all the songs form a cohesive whole. So, the music of this album is so UNIQUE that no one is able to emulate.

Second, the album delivers a solid storyline from start to end with varied compositions that encompass many different songs - most of them are instrumentals but Moraz has successfully composed some shots of vocal line in some songs. As this album was made when the recording format was vinyl so it has its limitation as 'Best Years of Our Lives' is the last song at the A side. The next songs are basically occupy the side B of the vinyl. So, listening to this album is like reading a solid novel where you cannot pick certain pages. Every piece of music presented here are absolutely excellent!

The third reason is the composition: brilliant! From the five dimensions that I usually use in reviewing a composition, this album stands really high. The melody ? i.e. the degree to which the main melody of the song is constructed from a combination of notes; this album is really excellent. The harmonies ie. how each instrument contributes in creating sounds and notes, especially the combination of dynamic percussion work and keyboard it's really fabulous. The complexity of the arrangement i.e. the degree in which the instrument (including vocal) being played by the musicians and how they generate a piece of music stream or segment of the music is also an excellent one. The album also provides a frequent change of style which includes tempo changes and/ or heavy or soft musical sounds. The last one is the structural integrity i.e. the degree to which all musical segments, including changes of style, form a cohesiveness of the music as a whole from start to end. The five components are very fundamental for me to assess my rating towards the music, especially progressive music.

There is no reason for NOT liking this album! You MUST have it ...!!!

Keep on proggin' ...!!!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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