THE LONG GOODBYE

1. "Behind the Veil of a Smile" (6:19) Maybe it's in the lyrics, but I hear nothing new or exciting here. Nice sound and musicianship. (8.5/10)

2. "Everything's Changed" (7:39) interesting 1990s synth sounds in the intro. Stu's vocal opens sounding like Michael Stadler. Quite the hokey chorus--both musically and lyrically--but its melody remains after the song is over. The "Turn Me Loose" bass lines are a bit distractting. Nothing new or exciting here. Nice sound and musicianship.(12.75/15)

3. "Shadow in the Corner" (5:28) interesting percussion-led intro morphs in the second minute into something that sounds like a blending of THE WHO ("Eminence Front") and THE PET SHOP BOYS. The chorus reminds me even more of the style and affect of the lead singer of The Pet Shop boys. Nice lead guitar work in the fifth minute. (8.7/10)

4. "The Righteous and the Damned" (8:37) the a cappella isolation of Stu's voice really exposes one to hear the age of his voice: he's still got great control and style but the strength and clarity of his pitch selection seems to have weakened. The European folk ethnic instruments that the band chooses to accompany Stu for the 1:20 to 2:30 section is interesting. After this, the music turns all "compressed heavy" (with a two-chord kind of foundation) while Stu continues to present the music in an ethnic (Klezmer? MYRATH?) style. Nice drumming from Spencer Luckman. With just voice, drums, and distant power chords (mirrored exactly by the keyboards) the music just seems too thin--like it's missing something. Interesting and unusual song. (17.25/20)

5. "The Long Goodbye" (12:58) The chorus sounds like something straight off of NEW ORDER's 1993 album, Chemical. This is definitely the most interesting and dynamically creative song on the album (despite its New Order familiarity). Aside from the borrowed New Order melodies (especially in the choruses), I hear a rather blatant PETER NICHOLLS delivery of the vocals in the verses. The song crescendoes way too early with a soulless guitar solo followed by group choral singing of the song's title and some orchestra strings to take us out at the very end. I mean, it checks all the boxes, but without much authentic-sounding vim or vigor. (22/25)

- CD bonus tracks: 6. "Darker Days" (7:45) an effectively kinetic foundation kicks off from the opening gate containing the perfect amount of space in the midrange for the vocal presentation of a story. Reminds me very much of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT (now and then)--especially the guitar solo near the end--as well as a Peter Nicholls IQ performance. (13.125/15)

7. "Open Water" (4:08) Stu singing in a STEVE HOGARTH voice on one of Marillion's subdued songscapes. He's a little pitchy here and there, and there's not much else to this song besides the acoustic guitar work and vocal. (8.5/10)

Total Time 52:54

There are a lot of ballad-like deliveries of Stu Nicholson's vocals on this album: simplified progscapes that serve more to convey his stories/lyrics--which means there is not a lot of fluff, flourish, and nuance within the music below Stu's voice; this means that this is a very lyrics-oriented and message driven album, which is never my strong suit. Aside from a couple guitar solos (on "The Long Goodbye" and "Darker Days") and some klezmer-like instrument choices (on "The Righeous and the Damned"), there's a sad lack of much going on in the music/instrument department here--downright woeful in the keys department.

B-/3.5 stars; a disappointing and rather lackluster product from one of Britain's long-standing stalwarts of "second wave" Prog (what we've come to call "NeoProg"). Good, but nowhere near essential.

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