THE WAKE

I have had this album for some years, but for one reason or another (possibly because I have it on cassette!) it has never been a regular listen. There are strong shades of Yes in the music, "Drama" in particular came to mind a few times. Likewise, the sound of Steve Hackett's guitar echoed across several of the tracks.

That's not to say the music bears any direct connection with the music of Yes or Genesis, there certainly no suggestion of borrowed themes etc. It's very much the overall feel of the album I'm comparing, and purely for reference purposes. Other reference points to a greater or lesser extent would be Marillion, Pallas and Arena.

"The Wake" is a fine neo-prog album, with plenty of symphonic keyboards, melodic lead guitar, changing themes lengthy tracks, the lot. The Achilles heel to some extent is the vocals which are adequate but no more.

The feature track, "Widow's peak", is a nine minute epic with all the aforesaid ingredients, plus a strong performance. Many of the tracks merge together (a la Moody Blues), giving the album a continuity and apparently more complex structure. The version I have includes a "bonus track", Dans Le Parc". I can't say the track, an instrumental, adds anything to the album, but it does display once again the virtuosity of the band.

An enjoyable album of straightforward neo-prog.

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