WIDDERSHINS

1. "Sacrament" (7:04) Heard it before. In 1972. By URIAH HEEP or BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, I'm not sure which. I think both. Or maybe Spinal Tap. Nice rendition. Nice gritty Hammond. A band who owes a lot to late 1970s THIN LIZZY and AC/DC. (12.25/15)

2. "Widdershins" (13:32) pretty solo piano opens this one. (Is it in D minor like "Lick My Love Pump"?) Singer Keri Farish gets the first shot at lead vocal. It's a sincere attempt at storytelling that she's emoting over. At the end of the third minute the full band kicks in, establishing a steady sonic landscape that sounds as if it came right out of a theatric stage production from the West End. Keri continues her sincere Yvonne Elliman performance. Little heavy musical interlude in the seventh minute before downstepping to a slow piano-led chord progression for the eighth in which guitarist Dean Marsh lays down a decent solo with some David Gilmour/John Sykes panache. Mid ninth minute we're up and running again. More fun Hammond soloing in the 13th minute before everything stops for 30 seconds of odd quiet time. I guess they were just giving time for the audience to offer some warm applause. (26/30)

3. "The Haruspex" (8:26) a heavier, spooky Hammond-dominated opening is paused for odd sprite-like synth noises before female 'tron choir banks enter and the real song is established for Keri Farish's heavily effected voice to sing. Very nice drumming, bass, and Hammond on this one. Guitar solo in the fifth and sixth minutes sounds just like Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser. The vocals sound like Ozzie coming out of the body of Loverboy's Mike Reno. A top three song for me. (17.75/20)

4. "Dreamcatcher" (5:24) piano and jazzy fretless bass support Keri singing another sentimental vocal. Her emotions feel pretty heart-felt. (Good performance.) Nice ballad with fitting Whitesnake-like guitar wailing away. (8.75/10)

5. "Wisp" (6:56) opens with some rolling soundscape like a CURE song. Then Uillean pipes enter. Engaging melody established by the male lead singer for the first verse. This is followed by "Don't Fear the Reaper" guitar arpeggi with pipes for a brief bridge before returning to a fuller instrumental field for the second verse. The next bridge then goes for djenty power chords to establish a heavier sound before finally divulging the chorus within a medium-to-heavy weave. I feel as if I'm listening to a new take on BÖC's "I Love the Night." At 4:56 there is a stop before aggressively strummed acoustic guitar launches us into a Irish reel for the finale (with a different male vocalist--Luke?--in almost Ian Anderson-like). Interesting song. Another top three. (13.25/15)

6. "Man of Signs" (8:21) introspective piano and strummed electrified acoustic guitar open this once before male vocalist (and haunting Greek chorus choir) join in with their interesting vocal performance. A shift into fourth gear in the sixth minute provides a bouncy gallop for Marsh and Severn to duel their guitar and Hammond, respectively. The persistent dominant presence of the piano and acoustic guitar certainly give this one a different feel from the others. Weird end with bass and cymbal. Interesting. (17.5/20)

7. "Witchmonger" (4:18) another Celtic-infused song--the vocal is even organized like a folk song--with the whispery lead vocal of Dean Marsh. Not really a very good song--unless you like Fish-Marillion. (8.25/10)

8. "Cave" (19:45) all of the great sounds of the early pioneers of heavy rock/"Heavy Metal" in the proggy setting of 1980s compositional styles. I find the guitarist dueling with himself eighth minute laughable. And "Would you stir up Widdershins?" definitely deserves multiple repetitions and tubular bells. Isn't the arrangement in the 13th minute straight out of some classic song from the 1970s? Haven't puppet themes been worn out? Then a switch to "mediæval" mode for the 15th minute. Classic gothic storytelling! (Or else classic Spinal Tap.) And what's with the three-minute computer synth piano & strings piece tacked on to the end? Shouldn't this be listed as a separate song? (34/40)

Total Time 73:46

Well produced and, I'm sure, well-intended retro rock. Everything that was great about the 1970s pioneers of heavy rock is present here--including an outstanding, if familiar-sounding, lead vocalist.

B-/3.5 stars; a nice addition to the retro-prog/rock loving music collector's music collection.

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