THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE

The inexhaustible guitarist has to be one of the hardest working musicians anywhere, dishing out studio albums at a consistent pace, touring the world in concert, paying his respectful homage to his first band and furthering, if not elevating its legacy way beyond the capabilities or desires of his former bandmates. More Fool Me indeed! He has no need to prove anything anymore, well entrenched in the Prog Hall of Fame and content do his thing his way. Master of the acoustic, nylon and electric guitars, using his legendary sustain and tapping technique, he is unique in not veering into fluffier jazzy stuff like so many other veteran electric guitarists. He actually has become a tad crisper in his sound, noticeable in the last few releases especially. And true to form, the tracks cover a wide range of stylistic niches, from acoustic workouts, brooding blues, some technical sizzle that borders on heavy rock and of course, some sublime prog compositions that are unafraid to infuse some world music tendencies. His usual seasoned road cronies are all on board, Roger King manning the keyboard duties, the amazing Jonas Reingold on bass, sax man Rob Townsend and drummers Craig Blundell, Nick D'Virgilio and Hugo Degenhart.

Strangely, I was truly mesmerized by the shorter pieces like the iridescent "These Passing Clouds", the bluesy "Found and Lost", the torrid sandstorm feel of Scipio's Roman Army in Africa on "Circo Inferno", the Zeppelin-esque thrashing on "Breakout", lest we forget that the Brits are an island nation devoted to the oceans on "All at Sea" and the classical acoustic finale on "White Dove", a magical farewell.

For those who are dismayed about him singing on all the tracks, hey, it's been like that for nearly 50 years, so suck it up and move on. Its his art, okay! For those who think he is just rehashing the same tired formula, listen to the monster rock steamroller exhibit on "Taking You Down", the totally enchanting Genesisian aroma of "Enter the Ring" with its fluttering John Hackett flute pirouettes and carnival atmosphere, the incredible six string method solo on the poignant "Get it Out", followed by the majestic prog epic "Ghost Moon and Living Lone", a series of typical Hackett solos that inserts some slide guitar outbursts, the soaring female vocal (Amanda Lehmann) intro is drenched in absurd beauty and rather amazing vocals from the Man with the Golden Guitar, BTW!

The furtive "Into the Nightwhale" certainly captures the gigantic proportion of the cetacean with some colossal orchestrations as well as the creature's relative meekness and gentle disposition in the second part, where a serene calm settles in, twinkling piano and a forgiving vocal glimmering brightly. Immediate segue into the bolder anthemic "Wherever You Are", a suave voice, leading to thumping drum patterns, another patented Hackett fretboard screech, rousing organ collisions and a fiery climax.

The lamp's warm glow flickers as Steve plays "White Dove", restrained notes that express deep felt emotions, a stellar neo-classical piece that suggest the need for kindness and peace. Mister consistency strikes again, another great chapter in a gloriously productive career, proving once again that being on one's own can be utterly rewarding artistically.

4.5 Carnival orcas. [email protected]