ARKANGEL

A lot of good musicians on this album - Billy Liesgang, Robert Fripp, Steve Hackett (!) and long-time friend Richard Palmer-James... But a good line-up doesn't always make a great album. The big difference with the last album "Battle Lines" is the presence of too many cheesy songs - even the mellow songs often lack the emotion one would expect from such songs.

Of course, the first three tracks are awesome. The beautiful instrumental "The Circle Of St Giles", the rocking "The Last Thing On My Mind" and the emotional "Desperate Times". The title track "Arkangel" is another fine soft track. "All Grown Up" is probably the most emotional song on this album. And the closing track "The Celtic Cross" is another great instrumental. But what about the rest of the songs? "I Can't Lie Anymore" and "Nothing Happens For Nothing" are leftovers from the previous album - very irritating melodies. "You Against The World" is an extremely cheesy song. "Emma", "After All", "Magazines" and "Woman" are four very mellow tracks, but they definitely lack the emotion of the title track for example. And "Be Careful What You Wish For" is unremarkable...

Rating: 68/100