REAL TO REEL

Regarded as a tragic end to a brief and derivative career, there are virtues to be found in Reel to Real if the listener is patient. Given, Starcastle will always be considered little better than a Yes cover band; however deserved or undeserved this condemnation is, they were always capable of intensely consistent material. Thus the perceived blah of Reel to Real: this really is a pop album crafted by a progressive band. As such, it is both embarrassing and illuminating. There are horrors here, make no mistake. But there is also some wonderful music, which requires the suppression of the average progger's pop-gag reflex. That's the astonishing thing: .it's incredibly easy to imagine the majority of these songs finding a place on top 40 stations. Whatcha Gonna Do and Stars Are Out Tonight are sing-along fun, if not exactly prog friendly. Meanwhile, other songs on the album hint at Starcastle's past music and personal preferences; Song for Alaya is lovely, and the closing track (When the Sun Shines at Midnight) is one of the most epic, awesome tracks the band ever committed to, er, Reel. A near-seamless transition to pop that repeatedly harkens back to the band's previous discography, with a few amazing tracks grounding the singalong airiness.