SPEAK

Jason Hart gets to live the prog fan's dream with his I and Thou project, which sees him collaborating with a wide range of prog veterans on this set of lavish extended neo-prog instrumentals. Even the cover art brings star power to bear, painted by none other than Annie Haslam of Renaissance. The musical style is reflective and tends towards the pastoral styles of classic-period Genesis - the comparisons others have made to the Wind and Wuthering or Trick of the Tail era are apt - and for the most part the focus is very much on long, extended instrumental passages dominated by Hart's keyboards. (The only song on here which doesn't qualify as a full-on mini epic is the comparatively brief Go or Go Ahead, which includes a remarkable guest performance by Marillion's Steve Hogarth). Delightful stuff.