THE WHIRLWIND

I had to wait a little before picking up this album. I only have "Bridge Across Forever" and even if I found it interesting, I never grew addicted to it. So I decided to wait for some of the review before picking it up.

"The Whirlwind" was definitively more likeable right after the first listen. I immediately got the impression that I was going to like this album. There is definitively "Yes" influence in here. I like the way some of the themes or melodies are recurring or coming in later songs. It is very well constructed and the flow from one song into another is seamless.

Strong moments for me are: Ouverture/The Whirlwind", "The Wind Blew Them All Away", "Rose Colored Glasses", "Lay Down Your Life". The last third of that first CD seems a little weaker and the closer just doesn't leave me with a wow impression. It makes you wonders if they just spread it a little to thin for the sake of doing a 77 minutes song. Nonetheless the overall result is strong and solid. Now, the bonus CD? It offers 4 original tracks and 4 covers. The 4 original tracks are quite different from on another and have the merit of being more exploratory. But, quite frankly they are far from being exceptional. They have either a retro feeling to them or they somehow remind me of the late Beatles era.

The covers are OK. I like "Salty Dog" as this song was unknown to me. So it does appears original (to me at least!). "I Need You" is barely tolerable. I never really like the original. I like the remake of "The Return of Giant Hogweed", it somehow got stuck to my brain for weeks. I can't say that the remake is that great, I think it is just a reflection of the fact that the original is such a great song. In fact, it made me dig my "Nursery Cryme" album and made me listen to it again. And as usual I prefer the original work.

Ending this CD, is a long and boring cover of Santana that I usually just skip (and believe me, skipping a tune is a sin for me! I listen to my albums whole!) But this might be just an echo that I am not a fan of Santana.

If I would rate the overall package, I would hesitate giving it 4 stars. But I will discard the bonus CD from the rating and judge this album rating based on the main purpose of this release which is the 14 parts title song. Based on that, 4 stars.