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Jadis - Fanatic CD (album) cover

FANATIC

Jadis

Neo-Prog


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Dan Bobrowski
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars This is the only Jadis album I own, so I can't relate it to any of their earlier recordings. Great vocals, I like Gary Chandlers voice. He is a good guitarist. Solid rythm section. The bassist and drummer lock in tight. Need more lead keyboard solos or maybe add a sax/flute player. It lacks fire and dynamics. The music is too static. Very slick production. Reminds me of GTR and Marillion, although I like the vocals much better. This is prog-light. Tunes your wife won't mind listening to.
Report this review (#18189)
Posted Wednesday, November 12, 2003 | Review Permalink
Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Prosaic

Jadis make good solid prog, and this album is no exception. They don't really progress as such, "Fanatic" could have been made at any time in their career. The vocals, keyboards and guitars will all sound familiar to anyone who's heard any of the previous Jadis albums. This is not said by way of criticism, the music is as usual melodic, and well performed.

There are traces of Yes, Marillion, Genesis, and especially Pendragon. The tracks are not particularly long, there's no epic piece or multi-section opus, the nearest they come is on the 8 minute "What kind of reason". The tracks do however have more than just basic song structures, although for me a bit less of the vocals and a bit more of the guitar and keyboards would have made for a vast improvement. The one instrumental track is the title track, a softer atmospheric piece, with very moody waves of sound, and some fine guitar.

In all, a solid if unexciting album, which will satisfy those who already know of Jadis, and enjoy their work.

Report this review (#18192)
Posted Monday, May 31, 2004 | Review Permalink
big_room@yaho
3 stars Jadis' "Fanatic" album is a solid set of IQ-sounding neo-progressive rock in the standard post-Genesis/Marillion style. The performances are strong throughout, and Jadis' command of mood is as impressive as any of the sub-genre's standard bearers. Alternately atmospheric and propulsive, the instrumental textures and melodic designs are often exceptionally engaging by neo-prog standards, sure to appeal to hardcore fans and possibly attractive to neo-prog neophytes, as well.

Despite (or perhaps because of?) Jadis' polished professionalism, the album is not powerfully adventurous, and its compositions lack distinctive hooks or energy. As a result, "Fanatic" does not inspire devotion the way the best sets from IQ, Marillion, Genesis, etc. do. Jadis are no pretenders in neo-prog, but ultimately, "Fanatic" is fine but not fantastic.

Report this review (#18193)
Posted Sunday, August 8, 2004 | Review Permalink
Muzikman
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars I listened to this album with great interest and with enjoyment. JADIS is another one of those great bands that has seemed to slip through the cracks in the immense pool of talent worldwide (at least for me), until now. With a fresh new start on the best progressive rock label on the globe and a new album called "Fanatic", new listeners will come to know this fine group very soon. I must say that they have earned my respective ear.

I was immediately pleased from the opening track "The Great Outside," then from there it just got better. The similarities to GENESIS (when Phil Collins took over after Peter GABRIEL went off on his solo career) occurred to me around the middle of the recording session, some of you may recognize it a lot sooner, particularly after you read this review then buy the CD!

An interesting cover encases this CD. Some kind of a reptilian-like creature or being is peering out through a porthole of a ship or through a peephole from another dimension or world. I do know that the imagery below this opening creates the illusion of blissfulness whilst being watched by someone or something. I would not spend too much time thinking about all of that though, you may get a different perception of what you are going to hear on this recording. My first thoughts were that this is not progressive rock; it is more rock-pop than anything, but after another listen I found that assessment was very untrue. The post GABRIEL GENESIS influences that I detected brought about those thoughts.

Primarily this is a great rock band featuring some of the most melodic rock guitar and standout vocals (Gary Chandler) that you could possibly imagine; then again, the progressive leanings are there but not predominant. It is more of a sprinkling of the progressive edges, if you will, that has them teetering back and forth from one to side to other that may confuse some listeners. In retrospect, after listening twice, it all became quite clear and very pleasing after I stopped trying to figure out what kind of music it was and decided to enjoy it all for what it was worth. This is not an easy task for a prog-head or jazz fusion freak (like me). If it is not complex, let us complicate or intellectualize it, right? Well, it is not necessary to strain your brain this way. There are enough elements of rock and prog to please both sides of the fence; and although hardliner prog-rock lovers may want to blow this one off, I would encourage them to give it a fair chance. This is a great album worth a few good listens before casting any judgments upon it, based on this writer's opinion, of course. If you had not heard of the group and do not know what to expect (like me) then you have nothing to be disappointed about and everything to look forward to.

"Each And Everyday" is wonderful tune that bares witness to a very talented group of musicians able to make skillfully textured and moving music that is bound to find appreciation amongst many sophisticated listeners. Similarly, they can rock hard like on "I Never Noticed" with a driving rhythm section (Steve Christey & John Jowitt) interlaced with tastefully powerful keyboard strokes (Martin Orford) and catchy sweeping guitar riffs (Chandler). I have given you but a few morsels from a full course meal, but enough to get your appetite aroused for what is on the menu. This album's appeal is contagious . you have been hereby officially warned of its addictive qualities and sufficiently advised that becoming a fanatic is quite probable.

This band supported MARILLION on their 1988 Clutching At Straws tour! Hello? Their experience is evident on this album and I am anxious to hear some more. Hopefully Inside Out will reissue their back catalog, and if they do, I will be the first to write about, you can count on it.

Report this review (#18195)
Posted Tuesday, January 25, 2005 | Review Permalink
2 stars I am sorry but this is NOT prog (and most certainly not a la IQ), more good AOR.

If I wanted Mike and the Mechanics, I would have bought it.

This is from a big fan of their previous material, particularly the live CDs.

If Jadis are going to continue in this vein, I have bought my last CD.

Report this review (#18196)
Posted Thursday, March 31, 2005 | Review Permalink
4 stars Once again another very very good album by JADIS, unlike some reviewers, I don't mind the fact that the album sounds like the other Jadis albums, my answer is "IF IT AINT BROKE DON'T FIX IT"

Another reviewer said JADIS isn't PROG, just what is PROG anyway, I much prefer JADIS to any of the overblown Arty-farty USA bands like SPOCK'S BEARD( Leonard Nimoy should sue.)

In my opinion JADIS are one of the best "Prog" bands anywhere, and Gary Chandler is a great guitarist and a pretty fair vocalist as well, the rest of the band are also very good.

To sum up this is a fine album by a great band. To the uncomitted I say try ANY Jadis album, I'm sure you will like it

Report this review (#18197)
Posted Monday, April 25, 2005 | Review Permalink
5 stars i first listened to medium rare and they catch my heart forever. it´s incredible like their last disc FAnatic. i love what kind of reason , it´s a great piece of prog sense rock.i recommend fanatic to all of you
Report this review (#38834)
Posted Friday, July 8, 2005 | Review Permalink
Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I usually called this band as "Half-IQ" as 50% of band members are being active members of IQ, i.e. Martin Orford (Keys) and John Jowitt (bass). The band leader Gary Chandler is an excellent guitar player and songwriter who does lead vocal role in most of the band's albums. The music of Jadis has always been pigeon-holed as neo prog even though (my view) is not typical neo prog music. What do you expect from neo prog band? Killing melody, soft and symphonic keyboard work plus a bit of Floydian guitar solo. It's not the case with Jadis. Most of their music is in hard driving rhythm with medium to fast tempo and not that many tempo changes.

With this album you will hear a combination of uobeat tempo track and some with slower ones and all of them have chock full of guitar solos and rhythm - sometimes in Floydian style and sometimes with a rockier one. Some energy driving like opening track "The Great Outside" (6:34) and "Into Temptation" (6:38) are good examples of how good the guitar playing of Gary melted into the music, and also solid bass lines by John Jowitt. But this album also offers what you typically expect from neo prog band: soft / mellow music that increases into medium-heavy music like "What Kind of Reason" (8:17). The music flows peacefully with some Floydian guitar style. In addition to excellent guitar player, Gary Chandler is also a good singer.

Overall it's a good album that combines the sparks of Gary Chandler guitar work combined with inventive bass lines by John Jowitt and symphonic keyboard by Martin Orford. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours, GW

Report this review (#39710)
Posted Monday, July 18, 2005 | Review Permalink
3 stars 'Fanatic' is the 5th studio album from Jadis, and their first since signing to InsideOut Records. While in some ways it continues the natural progression from 'Understand' (2000), in other ways it marks a subtle departure. Although I personally think this to be a strong, clearly defined album, it also seems to send the message that the early style adopted on 'More Than Meets The Eye' will not be replicated, and as such I feel that 'Fanatic' sits right on the boundaries of neo-prog, and as a consequence perhaps has less to offer 'Marillion' and 'Arena' fans than previous releases, leading instead to a more MOR release, which critcs would say at times wouldn't seem out of place on Radio 2.

The first thing to strike you is that the album has a very polished production, helped by the fact that many of the tracks drift seemlessly into each other, in more of a Floydian sounds cape, than we have previously been used to. In keeping with this, there appears to be a greater use of keyboards and synthesised technology to create the atmosphere, whereas Chandler's guitar, which had once soared above the rhythm section in a manner becoming of Latimer or early Hackett, now is more sparing and at times subdued. This to me seams to take the album nearer to 'Division Bell' territory, at times.

As a consequence of this, I find it more difficult than on previous recordings to suggest 'highlight' tracks, because while there are no particularly weak offerings, in the most positive sense, there are no tracks that standout either. The opener, 'The Great Outside' is one of the most upbeat on the album, with crunching guitar riffs alternating with light trademark Chandler licks. It isn't until the album's closer, 'Who Can We Be Sure Of' however, that this kind of power is employed again, where during this, possibly the album's heaviest track, the tempo is at it's quickest, with bombastic guitar chords and drums more prominent than anywhere else on the album.

Between these tracks, 'Fanatic' drifts elegantly through 'Into Temptation', which surprisingly employs slightly muffled vocals and distorted guitar in the chorus to create an etherreal atmosphere. 'Each & Every day' is a ballad which uses vocal harmonies, both from Orford, and Julia Worsley, whose voices aid the keyboards in softening the mood prior to the track's crescendo. This is quite effective, and I feel that the tone of the album would have benefitted from using Julia on other tracks.

It isn't however until you reach 'Fanatic', a dreamy keyboard driven instrumental, overlaid by weeping Gilmouresque guitar virtuosity, that you realise how subtle yet unrelenting, Jadis' metamorphosis has been; this is quite different in tone from others they have done, and poles apart from 'Holding Your Breath' on their debut album. This dreaminess is underlined on 'Take These Words', and the 8 minuter, 'What Kind Of Reason', demonstrating the evolution of the band. To sum this up, 'Fanatic' is a highly accomplished, polished and creditable album, which I could recommend, however it wasn't quite what I had expected, and leaves me intrigued as to Jadis' future offerings.

Report this review (#62205)
Posted Thursday, December 29, 2005 | Review Permalink
Rivertree
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions
4 stars Fanatic is fantastic?

This is an excellent production. Gary Chandler is dominating all the tracks with his voice and good guitar work. Absolutely unique and I cannot find much similiarities to IQ.

You can hear this from the beginning to the end without being bored. I'm sure - every fan of Rock Music will enjoy this too.

My highlight is 'What kind of reason' which reminds me at Kansas. It begins as a ballad with acoustic guitar and then grows with every minute to one of my favourite prog-songs in 2003.

Report this review (#84966)
Posted Thursday, July 27, 2006 | Review Permalink
4 stars Not to placed in IQ, PENDRAGON or ARENA's niche, JADIS have their own place and well deserved as well.

A huge huge output over the years culminates in this, I feel, their pinnacle. Flowing from one track to the next with a common thread running through the whole that helps to bind the album together.

Quite a raunchy rocky sound that identifies this album, the first track contains a anthematic melody with guitar riff that captures and draws the listener in. Plenty of time signature changes keep the interest going.

A good album that deserves a 4 star rating.

Report this review (#91998)
Posted Monday, September 25, 2006 | Review Permalink
Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars You gotta love the warm vocal stylings of Gary Chandler, not to mention the way he plays some excellent guitar. And when you add John Jowitt and Martin Orford into the mix, we should have a four or five star record. But in my opinion we don't, I just don't know why. Should John and Martin been given more prominance ? Was this record rushed ? Or maybe it's just me ? I feel that half of the songs are just ok and the others range from good to excellent.

Highlights for me are "The Great Outside" that opens with acoustic guitar and sampling that gets totally blown away by an explosion of drums, guitars, everything ! This song features a great guitar melody and those vocals I like so much. "Each And Everyday" is a terrific slow tempo song with outstanding vocal melodies.Then there is the title song "Fanatic" a powerful and emotional instrumental that is my favourite on the record. "Yourself Alone" is all about the vocals."Take These Words" is a good uptempo song with soaring guitars, I really like the main melody.

A good album, but JADIS have done better.

Report this review (#97943)
Posted Thursday, November 9, 2006 | Review Permalink
ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Three albums in six years. This is not a furious rhythm of course for "Jadis". On their behalf, two of their members are busy as well with "IQ" and maybe more attention was dedicated to the later band...

The best "Jadis" times are IMO their debut album (in the Special Edition form), and a very good EP "Once Upon A Time". After these, some good live releases and that's it actually.

And this one won't change my overall feeling. If you except two very good songs of which the title track and "What Kind of Reason", the offering is rather dull and too much similar to previous works.

"Fanatic" features a superb and spacey intro. Miles away from the global AOR / hard feeling during most of the other songs. Great guitar break (at last) from Gary. Emotion at its best for this instrumental track. The first highlight of this CD. It could have been the first movement of something brilliant.

But, alas! It will just be a short breathe of fresh air into this ocean of heavy and uninspired songs like "The Great Outside" which is really close to hard-rock and featuring dull vocals (which has never been the strenght of this band to be honest : a poor opening number full of clichés).

To name them would be as good as naming almost all songs from "Fanatic". But "Into Temptation and "Yourself Alone" are probably the worse you can expect from this album. The poppish "Take These Words" being not great either.

The secong great song being "What Kind of Reason". Some delicate instants in this maelstroem of weak stuff. Nicely built (from acoustic guitar and passionate vocals to a somptuous melody with wonderful instrumental parts (keys and guitar). The second highlight.

This is somewhat a useless effort. Very little great guitar moments as we have been used to, melodyless songs for most of them. For die-hard fans only. Two stars.

Report this review (#151213)
Posted Friday, November 16, 2007 | Review Permalink
progrules
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I checked out the review averages so far of all the Jadisalbumreviews and what strikes me most is the low averages. Jadis hardly reaches a total average of 3.5 and I think that's a bit low for such a high-quality band. I realize it's all a matter of taste and then I have to conclude Jadis isn't very popular, there are very few reviews for each album, that's another fact. Maybe it has someting to do with the discussion whether Jadis is prog at all, a discussion that's also relevant for Gary Chandler himself I read in a recent interview with him. He wanted to abandon the progressive world and be regarded as more mainstream rock if I interpreted him well. It never bothered me if his band is really progressive or not. I'm just interested in quality, especially the melodic aspect of music. And Jadis scores very high to me in that department.

So too with this album. It starts off with the two strongest tracks, particularly Into temptation is one of their best ever. Then two lesser tracks follow before the very nice instrumental title track is next. It continues with two average, recognizable Jadis songs before it's time for another jewel: What kind of Reason. This is a superbeautiful ballad with an unbelievable guitar solo by Chandler. This is really such a song you'd better save for special occasions so it remains really special. It ends with another typical Jadis song: Who can we be sure of ?

Conclusion: One of the better Jadis albums, though not the best. Still: 4 stars to me.

Report this review (#151680)
Posted Monday, November 19, 2007 | Review Permalink
The T
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Were it not for a couple of songs, I would have given this album a 1-star rating.

This is neo-prog at its worst. A genre I like and a lot when done well (ARENA, MARILLION, IQ, among many others) can be the synonym of boredom if played with so much lack of will and originality as in this record by JADIS.

The songs Fanatic (with a very good guitar solo near the end, nothing incredibly original but very proggy) and the one that follows, Yourself Alone (with it's moderately memorable music) are the only highlights in an album that's as bland and uninspired as any.

Not only is the music totally un-original (we've heard this music hundreds of times before) but it's also weak, dull, lacking any element that could make it interesting. The songs lack hooks, there are no good choruses, no memorable verses, no riffs or acoustic passages or even progressions that we can say we will remember 3 minutes after listening to the whole album.

On top of that, the music lacks energy, lacks strength, lacks life. All sounds the same, with no dynamics, with nothing that makes us FEEL anything. This is perfect background music. But progressive- rock should never be good for background music, as one of the things that we love about it is that it forces us to listen. JADIS forces us to listen, yes... but to whatever else is producing sounds other than the speakers or headphones.

The musicicans are capable, the album is perfectly-produced, but as said before, the music is generic neo-prog. Even the singer sounds like a generic neo-prog singer, much like PALLAS' vocalist, but without the character of the Scottish band's frontman, and especially, without the good music that that band is able to create.

Two songs save this album from being in the bottom group of albums I own and have reviewed. But don't let the rating fool you: the album is bad, is not a disaster because it has a few redeeming elements, but it's nowhere near real GREAT albums in this neo-prog genre which has given us lots and lots of truly outstanding pieces of art.

This is not one of them, for sure.

Report this review (#162651)
Posted Monday, February 25, 2008 | Review Permalink
3 stars This album introduced me to Jadis last year. Jadis is a guitar based band with a guitar sound owing much to Marillion. One of the other reviewers' definition as light-prog is very fitting (Arena and Fish's Marillion are heavier). The singing is beautiful but there are problems in the songwriting department. Having read a few of the reviews here on this and other works of the band (and knowing all Jadis studio albums by now) I must say I can understand why people have difficulties with the songs or might even lose their patience. All to often I had the impression that the songs consisted of a bunch of themes (sometimes not even very good ones) - and that's it. Only with about 50 % of the songs Jadis seemed to have a clear vision of the shape the song to take. So half of the songs is mock-prog because it is not derived from abstraction but a result of carelessness. That makes it so hard to come to terms with the music.

Nevertheless there are some good tracks on each of the studio album - speaking of this one, they are named INTO TEMPTATION; FANATIC; YOURSELF ALONE; WHAT KIND OF REASON and the bonustrack of the digi version: THE FLAME IS BURNING OUT. Jadis belongs to me to the kind of bands which are mediocre if you consider all songs but very good if you start picking the right ones. A little hint: In my experience some of the Jadis songs begin to shine only when you change the running order! See for yourself if it works.

3 stars.

Report this review (#162829)
Posted Thursday, February 28, 2008 | Review Permalink
4 stars Best Prog for Driving

I like prog rock, but I like car, too. Haven't you experienced that you brought some prog CDs on your driving but none of them worked ? What CD do you bring for your driving ? In my case, well, certainly not "Starless And Bible Black", but RUSH will work if it's mid era of them. Actually JADIS works always and their CDs are always in my car audio.

Fanatic album has some tunes best for your driving: track, 1, 2, 7, and 9. I said before that if I have to own only one CD and it will be JADIS's More Than Meets The Eye. This is because their music can play in the morning, in the daytime, in the evening, and in the midnight. The music fits any situation of your daily life. If you look around your CD rack, you will find that you do not have such CD so many. That's why I love their music all the time.

Report this review (#286338)
Posted Sunday, June 13, 2010 | Review Permalink
SouthSideoftheSky
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Symphonic Team
2 stars What kind of reason would they need to develop beyond their established formula?

It is hard to come up with something to say about some albums by Jadis. And on the present album the band themselves seems to have found it hard to come up with something to say! Don't get me wrong, Fanatic is a decent album in its own right. The problem is that it adds nothing new to what they already had done better on their previous albums. The songs have all the Jadis trademarks and the album will certainly appeal to fans of the band who are looking for more of the same. But that is all it really is - more of the same!

Jadis started out well enough with their debut album More Than Meets The Eye in 1992. The 1994 follow-up Across The Water is my personal Jadis favourite and a strong album. I have yet to hear the band's often detested third album Somersault from 1997, but judging from what I've heard Jadis never once departed from the formula they set up by their first two albums. Even if 2000's Understand is a good album, I think it is fair to say that Jadis reached their peak with Across The Water and then began to create lesser copies of their own past works. Fanatic sounds like a watered down version of Understand that itself sounded like a watered down version of Across The Water.

It is a pleasant but rather unexciting listen, recommenced only to fans and collectors

Report this review (#610675)
Posted Monday, January 16, 2012 | Review Permalink
b_olariu
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Fanatic saw the light in 2003 and is the sixth album from this discrete band named Jadis. I do consider that Jadis was from the beggining of their career in the shadow of big names in neo prog, but aswell they revive the neo sound in the '90's with at least 2 great abums in the first half of that decade that every neo fan must own, More then meets the eye and Across the water. Fanatic don't bring anything new in this field or in Jadis sound, is a good album with moderated great passages and with some great guitar works overall, but nothing special about it. Definetly better then Understand in my wiev with better parts and with more balls on every piece, seams that they woke up little bit from the acalmy that sourand them around Understand album. I think Jadis offered the best they got on first two albums and then after Across the water they only try to imitated the music from that albums, creating good but totaly unintresting type of neo prog. Even on every album the warm voice and great guitar chops of Gary Chandler keeps tha band on surface aswell contributing a lot Martin Orford on keyboards, they look like they run out of steam in this period. The opening track is ok, the title track is ok , but some passages are little forced to my ears, they try to much to come with some valid music and this is the best they got in that period. 3 stars again, some more catchy parts as on Understand but far from first two albums in greatness.
Report this review (#820989)
Posted Saturday, September 15, 2012 | Review Permalink
kev rowland
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Reviewer
4 stars So the classic line-up of Steve Christey (drums), John Jowitt (bass), Martin Orford (keys/vocals) and Gary Chandler (vocals/guitar) are back together. Martin and John had both departed for a while as they were too busy to commit (both being in some band called IQ, plus also John with Arena, and Martin with John Wetton), but now they are back and it is as if they have never been away. Look at my CD collection and the one that looks the most battered is probably their debut album, 'More Than Meets The Eye'. It is a classic, and one that still regularly gets played in my house, very loudly. Jadis are a prog band that simply do not sound like anybody else. While the music can be very complex, it is also often very simple, with the main components often being the two lead instruments of Gary's guitar and his voice. They are both instantly recognisable, solid yet fluid, gentle but hard when required. But while Jadis will only ever be recognised as such while Gary is in the band, the others are key. Martin and Gary have built up an understanding over the years that very few guitarists and keyboard players have, as anybody who has seen their sets as a duo will attest to. This means that either can provide lead knowing exactly what the other will be doing, and this interaction comes through also in their studio work.

The album starts with 'The Great Outside', and the cinematic view of a guitarist gently picking some strings while sat outside a house in the Deep South, late in the night. That gives way to Jadis opening proceedings with a crunching start. This is a prog band that has never been afraid to rock, but always within certain constraints. They are not a hard rock outfit, but one that brings melody and harmony together in a way envied by many but perfected by no others.

The title cut is the shortest number, at just over four minutes, but none of these are exceptionally long with 'What Kind Of Reason' being just over double that. What Jadis manage to do is to capture a place that is timeless, a world that the listener can just drop into and feel that it is a place of safety and tranquillity and one that can be enjoyed forever. Is this a better album than their debut? Pass, ask again in another ten years and I might be able to tell you ' but I do know that it is certainly one of the most enjoyable albums I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. For more information about this and their other albums visit the band site at www.jadis-net.co.uk.

First appeared in Feedback #74, Jun 03

Report this review (#985869)
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | Review Permalink
Aussie-Byrd-Brother
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars The fifth Jadis album `Fanatic' is more accessible adult guitar-driven rock from the British band, but despite the typical beautiful and surreal proggy artwork - would have looked amazing on vinyl - make no mistake. What we have here is nothing to be confused with full-blown progressive rock, despite the band being given the Neo prog tag. This is more likely to do with the association of IQ and Arena members John Jowitt on bass and Martin Orford on keyboards, on and off in the band since their terrific earlier album `More Than Meets The Eye'. The truth is, Jadis could possibly be considered a more sophisticated and intelligent kind of AOR - I know, quite a concept! But don't dismiss them just yet, there's enough to interest prog fans all the same.

All the members have standout moments throughout (and, despite not sharing the recognizable status those above mentioned members do, definitely not overlooking the rock-solid contributions of long-term drummer with the band, Steve Christey), Jadis is undoubtedly a showcase for guitarist and lead vocalist Gary Chandler. Always a grand, heartfelt and sublime player, `Fanatic' also demonstrates how far even his vocals have come from the early days of the band. Where his singing voice used to be pleasantly dull yet perfectly serviceable at best, here his tone is smoother and more confident, with tighter melodic arrangements and restrained yet well-implemented instrumental passages overall very much helping the sound of the group too.

`The Great Outside' opens as a drowsy country plucker before the whole band kicks in delivering a punchy rocker, full of pounding drums, aggressive synths stabs and driving searing guitarwork with a nice Mellotron breeze in the middle. Despite being a pleasing commercial rocker with a triumphant vocal, listen to how well the band fill `Into Temptation' with murmuring bass, strong washes of synths, chiming sedate guitar passages, regal soloing and alternating time-changes that brings them close to a Marillion and IQ-like sound. 80's Genesis-influenced `Each and Everyday' balances cold electronic percussion with gentle synths and acoustic strums around a dreamy groove. `I Never Noticed' is a shimmering gutsy rocker with loopy synth soloing and relentless heavy guitars that fade into the ambient instrumental title track with a blissful synth and piano passage and stirring guitar cries.

`Yourself Alone' is all heavy brooding slow riffs and a stomping beat for the verses with a surprisingly upbeat compassionate chorus over humming Hammond organ and thick upfront bass. The poppy `Take These Words' is uptempo and jaunty with some crisp guitar soloing that's very pleasant. Prog highlight `What Kind of Reason' mixes a sorrowful and sadly romantic vocal with strident acoustic strumming over grand orchestral synths and extended guitar soiling through the course of it's 8 and a half minutes. This superb track should have been the closer, instead the band add the grinding `Who Can We Be Sure Of?', with it's streamlined Rush sound that fades out very abruptly, to end the disc with kind of a non-event. It would have been better If it had been placed before `...Reason', which would have ended the album in a more epic maner. The Special Edition comes with a further bonus track, `The Flame Is Burning', an average plodding and slightly monotonous commercial rocker.

Repeated plays reveal many little details and subtle intricacies to even, what appears on the surface to be, some simplistic and overly straight-forward pieces. There's no doubt that many of Jadis' albums have more or less the same sound, and I do feel that the band really should `play the prog game' a bit more and offer some extra extended, more complex pieces. After all, it is a prog audience the band are essentially supported by, so best to give them a little more of what they crave! But still, `Fanatic' is simply a fine collection of superbly crafted rock played with professionalism and style by a group of talented musicians.

Three and a half stars.

Report this review (#1101959)
Posted Sunday, December 29, 2013 | Review Permalink
3 stars Fanatic corrects somewhat for the blandness of the Understand album by adding to its core of long-winded adult- oriented rock elements of arena rock, soul and more spacey Pink Floydisms . The album even starts with a weird western-followed-by-an-evil laugh intro to the rockin' The Great Outside, and even the shorter songs changing gears often. So, while never would they reach the heights of the first two albums, Fanatic is a passable album for Jadis (and it must be noted that even though More that Meets the Eye is their most famous album, the majority of their music is the kind you hear on Understand and Fanatic) - a band that is low on drama, but high on melody.
Report this review (#1553567)
Posted Tuesday, April 19, 2016 | Review Permalink
Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 3,5 stars, really. I think sometimes the wrong choice of the tracks running order has the power to spoil the overall coherence of a good work, This is at least the best explanation of why I really don´t fancy this CD too much, for it has very strong cuts and no tune is really bad. Coming 3 years after the excellent Understand, Fanatic kept the ball rolling with Jadis: The Great Outside is a powerful opener, small wonder it is the first song they played on their View From above live DVD. It´s one of their best and it segues with the equally convincing Into Temptation, where once again it´s hard to believe how good those four musicians are when they get together. Gary Chandler is also at his best both as songwriter and guitarist. He developed his very own, inimitable, style. But things get to a sudden halt with Each & Everyday: although not a bad song per se, far from it, it is nevertheless quite different, too slow and drags a bit in its 6 minutes. It really spoils the CD dynamics.

Things start to pick up the pace again with I Never Notice, although this one is less inspired than the albums two first cuts. On the other hand the nice title track puts everything on track again: a nice instrumental, atmospheric piece, this tune is very unusual for Jadis, but it works extremely well. It also serves as an intro to one of Jadis best songs ever, the reflexive Yourself Alone (also featured on their live DVD). The more mundane Take This Words is saved (as most of the tracks here) by the creative arrangements, excellent musicianship of all involved and, especially, by Chandlers unique, tasteful guitar breaks and solo. The delicate and poignant What Kind Of Reason proves that a slow, simple song can be worked up to an epic when played by four talented guys who know very well what team work is all about. it is over 8 minutes long, but you´ll think it´s too short. Brilliant!

The original CD finishes with another song that seems a little out of place here. Again Who Can We Be Sure Of is not a bad song, but really it´s not up to the remaining tracks of Fanatic, even if the arrangements and Chandler´s great guitar are well done. The extra track on some editions (like mine) The Flame is Burnt out has a fitting title!, since it seems to be just like that, a bonus track: a hard rock ditty that adds nothing to the album. Not the best way to finish an otherwise very fine CD.

Maybe I´m being too harsh and Fanatic deserved a for star rating, since it has so many fine songs on it. However, it is also clear that this time the tracklist is a bit uneven (by Jadis standards, that is). A change of a couple of songs would make this one as good as their previous one. At least that´s my opinion. So my final rating would be something between 3,5 and 4 stars. Compared to many other acts it is an excellent effort, but compared to Jadis own best works Fanatic is "just" very good.

Report this review (#2021879)
Posted Monday, September 3, 2018 | Review Permalink

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