ESOTERIC POEM *

This album is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time. A stunning work that just has everything: great lyrics, great playing, great melodies and themes. It flows very well from beginning to end. I am confused about the other reviewers comparing Grosso to Fish. They sound completely different. If anything I'd say he is sort of a cross between Gabriel and Collins, with a far better range and power than either one. But nothing like Fish whatsoever. The music is, for the most part, very mellow with some very ambient sections as well. This was initially a problem for me and I found the whole thing somewhat boring in comparison to their next album, which I heard first. But repeated listenings while reading along with the lyrics opened up the piece to me and I have come to love it. There are certainly a couple of spots where things get decidedly heavy, but certainly not prog metal heavy. This is probably the only "neo prog" band that I think did truely innovative and interesting things with that style. Anyway, an album that takes some listens to sink in, but is well worth the effort. And I, for one, think the lyrics are great for a non-native English speaker.