COLLECTOR'S ITEM

It's usually a bad sign when an album starts off with a song that just turns you off vocally. Geoff Mann's vocals are so off in the beginning of the song it gets in the way. It also doesn't help when the song is a chaotic mess going from Pallas like rock, to Marillion, to some really bizarre kiddie-like vocalizing 6 minutes in. It's really a hodgepodge and not very good, but hey this is a compilation of an obscure 80's Neo band so I guess it's got a mountain to climb to reach "A" status. Track two, "Sequences" calms thing down a bit, but not very much. It still sounds like a bizarre Marillion mix with Pallas and a tiny bit of mid- period Genesis. Trust me though, it doesn't get close to being as good as those bands. Geoff's vocals are at least tolerable, and there's some nice guitar wankering but it's never memorable. Andy Sears sings tracks 3 to 6 and also #8 and he's definately an improvement. He has a Fish style and the songs are bouncy with a serious Marillion fixation with the first song he sings, "Art And Illusion". "First New Day" has a new romantic sound harkening to the band Ultravox, very mysterious and moody. My favorite song is track 6, "Blondon Fair" an IQ type song mixed with a bit of Peter Gabriel's solo sound. I wish they stuck with this style, a unique song for sure. The best Geoff Mann song without a doubt is the 19 minute epic "The Collector". Here he doesn't go off the wall with his voice as he did on earlier tracks. Musically it's the most progressive with tasty IQ tempo changes and very well played keyboards. It's the only reason to buy this disc, (although 4 minutes in Mann tries once again with some weird vocalizations...UGH!). The last track is a throwaway pop love song. For Neo fans, it might possibly rate 3 stars. But in all honesty it's mainly for fans of the band who must have everything the band put out, nice booklet not withstanding.