IN THE LAST WAKING MOMENTS...

Man I never dreamed after my first few listenes that i'd be giving this 4 stars. The sound here is fairly samey, at least it has this melancholic mood throughout with a similar flavour instrumentally. And at 70 minutes it's of course too long but man this has grown on me. Pete Trewavas (MARILLION) and Eric Blackwood (CRIMSON) are the creators and performers with all of MARILLION helping out and a couple of other guests. They pretty much do this all themselves though. The vocals aren't anything to write home about but they both sing and I like them. One sounds a little like Bryan Ferry to my ears. I like the way tszirmay describes this as being a strange piece of music that is a series of studio manufactured mood pieces.

"Dusk" is a good way to describe the mood of this whole recording, but it's also the title of track one. Percussion is joined by acoustic guitar then reserved vocals before 2 minutes. It picks up 3 minutes in then we get some electric guitar before 5 minutes that solos tastefully overtop. It blends into "Fracture" a two part piece divided into "Fallout (Of The First Kind) and "The Last Refrain". It starts to pick up early then vocals come in at 1/2 minutes. It turns heavier. Nice. Vocals are Ferry-like 3 1/2 minutes in. "In The First Waking Moments" is a short piece with gentle guitar and reserved vocals. "A Million Miles Away" is maybe my favourite track on here. Strummed guitar to start as it builds some as laid back vocals join in. Just a cool sounding tune. A heartbeat and atmosphere late as it blends into "Fallout (Of The 2nd Kind)". Spoken word samples come in then we get music that builds followed by vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. Again Ferry-like. Reserved vocals a minute later as these vocals trade off as it were. "Outerspaced" kicks in heavily with huge bass lines and passionate vocals. "Spiraling" has a beat with a warm atmosphere. Reserved vocals join in. Laid back electric guitar before 3 minutes then it ends with noise after 4 1/2 minutes.

"The "Other" Other Dimension" is bass and drum led early then the vocals come in after 1 1/2 minutes but they're brief. A change in sound before 3 minutes but this also is brief. A crazy tune man. "Across The Plains" has a repetitive beat, atmosphere and more. "In The Last Waking Moments..." opens with gentle guitar as a beat joins in then vocals around a minute. It's fuller a minute later. Catchy stuff. Heavy guitar after 5 minutes as the intensity increases. "Lifeline" has a heavy intro as massive bass lines come in then vocals after a minute. It's still heavy. "Fallout (Of The 3rd Kind)" is mellow with fragile vocals until it kicks in heavily before a minute. Ferry-like vocals also join in. "The Awakening" is the 15 1/2 minute tour de force. Under this title they have written "Slowburn" which is a good way to describe this track. This is laid back with a beat but it's heavy. Samples of a conversation come in. Vocals replace the conversation. This all fades out before 4 1/2 minutes as the song sort of drifts along with vocals. It's fuller before 8 minutes without vocals but it's still dreamy. Vocals are back after 11 1/2 minutes for 2 minutes. "Fallout (Of The 4th Kind)" ends it with a short acoustic guitar and reserved vocal piece.

This is an album that has gone from being so-so in my mind to "i can't wait to spin it again". And if you don't believe in Hobbits look at the two guys on the back cover. A rare picture of two of them in the fog. Oops ! Wait a minute, that's Pete and Eric!