THE SONGS & TALES OF AIROEA BOOK 2: OCEAN TRAVELLER (METAMORPHOSIS)

1. "Over Westwinds" (3:59) a very complex vocal weave in which the singers quite often (and quite surprisingly) feel/sound quite pitchy--as if they really aren't skilled enough pull it off. Perhaps they shouldn't have. Kerry Minnear and the GG vocalists might have been able to do it. (8.66667/10)

2. "Orias & the Underwater City" (8:37) there is so much of the early WOBBLER sound here--especially in the vocal melodies and arrangements--yet the music is surprisingly sparse and simple. Kind of hard to accept/tolerate the old 1970s drum machine and ancient synth/Wurlitzer organ sounds that take over at 4:45. The Underwater City must be from The Buggles' lost soundtrack from the 1964 marionette television show, Stingray or, later, The Thunderbirds. Weird. (17.33333/20)

3. "Ocean Traveller" (6:22) another surprisingly simple song construct that reminds me, for the first minute, of some HARRY NILSSON music and then, after the one-minute mark, some early (and still simple--demo-like) YES harmony vocals. It's cute, quaint, and likable but hardly cutting edge. Unfortunately, the YES-imitation hardly works (the music is just too simplistic; Yes were never this rudimentary). Plus, the lyrics are a bit silly. (8.4/10)

4. "Lady of Waves" (5:38) more exceedingly simple instrumental work provides the opening and then foundation for the singing part of this one. The lyrics again are simple and almost silly: dancing and laughing "tenderly." (?!?!?) The meaty fifth minute offers some more serious instrumental action but never on the level of the great Wobbler stuff. (8.5/10)

5. "Green Refreshments" (7:09) gentle flute, bass, and two picked guitar chords precede a burst into Mellotron-supported "Knife"dom before returning to the bucolic opening theme. This cycle repeats twice before the music skirts down a more open, straightforward path of anachronistic prog rock (sound palettes from 1967-69)--and then some more equally ancient side-paths from there (think old MOODY BLUES, old JETHRO TULL, old YARDBIRDS, old BLACK SABBATH). (13/15)

6. "The Grand Reef" (7:25) opens with a very muddy/murky dynamic JETHRO TULL imitation, alternating for a couple rounds with a brief little more gentle prog folk dittie until the song finally bursts into full form with a very WOBBLER Rites at Dawn sound and feel. The fifth minute goes psychedelic with flutes, synths, guitars all swirling like a continuous roundabout--this particular motif playing out for a good two minutes before coming back to the original JTULL motif and then finishing with the WOBBLER Rites at Dawn vocal motif. Not bad! I wish there were more like this one. (13.25/15)

Total Time 39:10

Replication of the old sounds and styles of the hallowed "Classic Era" is all well and good--it feels good to hear it (and to recognize it)--and it is quite admirable to see a band accomplish such replication/imitation with such skill and fullness--but, for me, what keeps me interested in continuing the deepening and broadening my prog awareness is the artistic exploration of the new: it is the progression of musical forms that artists can (and, I think should) be focused on. This is not that kind of album. The subject matter of the album's "ocean traveller" concept are quite simplistic, even if you consider that this could be a product of some kind of psychedelic trip or communal "collective consciousness" event.

B-/3.5 stars; a fair contribution of retro prog to any "prog origins"-loving music lover but nothing much to write home about if you're looking for something to push the envelopes of new and innovative music.

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