CHRONOMETREE

I wasn't sure how many stars to give this one, three or four. Three and a half would have been the most accurate, I think. This is a fine album. Before this, the only one I possessed by Glass Hammer was Shadowlands. See my review under that title. This one I won't review track by track, as it is a concept album and should be heard as a whole. The plot, that the hero, Tom hears, through prog albums, aliens calling to him, is not particularly original, but interesting. Each track has the trade mark keyboards by Fred and Steve. Very impressive they are, too! And the guitar, whilst used more sparingly, is excellent. As may be expected, the overall effect, musically, brings to mind Yes. Maybe a touch of ELP is detectable also, but this band is too melodic for them really. No weak tracks here, but I especially like the quiet track 2, with the nice acoustic guitar running through it. Track 3 is also superb, and so are 5 & 6! In other words, it is hard to choose. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Yes, and believe it is best appreciated by listening to it all in one go. So, you may ask, why only three stars? Well, the one weakness here, as commented on by other reviewers, is the singing. Brad Marler, whoever he is, is certainly no singer! Whether he sings like this intentionally or not I don't know, but his voice really irritates one. He sort of drawls, sounding as if he is half drunk, or on some suspicious substance! Fred & Steve must have realised his voice was a drawback, as they handled most of the vocals themselves on the next two albums, improving the sound no end! Nevertheless, that one criticism aside, this is an excellent album. Go and get it! On another day, I would give this four stars.