SPACE SHANTY

Khan

Canterbury Scene

4.29 | 828 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

It's a shame some fine artistic projects don't get to come into being a reality on which to start a career. Khan seems to have been one of these.

Anyway, due to the fact that Steve Hillage's career was erratic at the time he was beginning and that he used to combine his academic studies and his musical vocation, it is no surprise that one has to look for his oeuvre under a variaty of banners: Uriel, Arzachel, Khan, Gong... until he established his own one with another masterpiece: 'Fish Rising'.

What a mighty musician and guitar player Steve Hillage is you can easily discover in this masterpiece. His compositions are among the best in progressive rock. Their strength and power develop with the support of a tighter than ever band, intended as first as a power trio but, with the addition of David Stewart's keyboards and marimbas, results in a perfect quartet that works as a precision mechanism.

All but one pieces are Hillage's compositions and you notice that instantly when 'Mixed up Man of the Mountains', written both by Hillage and bass guitar player Nich Greenwood, plays. But, guys, one has to have a rest now and then even in the middle of paradise because going from climax to climax can get unbearable sometimes.

The Esoteric Records reedition comes with two extra songs: a novelty in 'Break the Chains', also written in colabloration, and an shorter version of the mentioned 'Mixed up...' which only add extra time duration for the Cd to be fuller.

One cannot deny the influence that the Mahavishnu Orchestra, mainly, and particularly John MacLaughlin, exerted on Steve Hillage's music but this only means that good masters use to have good teachers or previous influence masters, as Michelangelo used to have his Donatello or Beethoven, his Franz J. Haydn.

Five stars for the cohesion, perfection, quality of improvisation and soloing and for its uniqueness.

ibnacio | 5/5 | 2012-6-17

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