KARMA

Shortly after the new millennium took its turn I was pretty much into Spocks Beard and noticed back then some of their members made solo releases. Well, Neal Morse wasn't really a big surprise because he was they great songwriter of the band but Ryo Okumoto and mr. D'Virgilio were more unexpected to me for I didn't really expect these qualities with these guys.

If I look back at the three members and their solo efforts I have to say mr. Morse is by far the outstanding songwriter and the keyboardist and drummer have delivered some nice work with their respective solo albums Coming Through and this release Karma. Okumoto took the heavier road with his effort but D'Virgilio has chosen more middle of the road kind of approach with Karma. Real songs (instead of complex compositions) with prominent vocals and less important instrumental bits and pieces is what I notice most when I compare and have to describe this album.

Solid songs for sure but nothing mindblowing is another conclusion after hearing the whole album once more. The vocals are really good but the compositions are hardly prog I'm afraid which is also proven by the average length of the songs. Ok, not really the only element to call something prog or not but it's a significant feature of most prog in history. And the songs are quite straightforward, sounding a bit like a calmer version of Black Crowes or Live for instance.

It's just the final multi layered song Paying the Price clocking almost 19 minutes that can be called progressive in many senses. But all in all that's not really enough if you ask me. Like I said, a solid release but nothing really to go overboard about. The only outcome can be 3 stars for me because of all the mentioned aspects. Maybe slightly rounded down but it's the best I can do. Nick's drumming and singing are the definite highlights and if you are interested you could go for this release but it's not highly recommended for everyone I dare to state. It could be nice for Beatles fans or probably people who like the Van Morrison approach.

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