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Castanarc - Journey to the East CD (album) cover

JOURNEY TO THE EAST

Castanarc

Neo-Prog

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loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars CASTANARC's "Journey To The East"" is a real classic and is one of those light hearted progressive rock recordings with highly memorable songs. Standout for me here is the absolutely beautiful soft voice of Mark Holiday who I would say has one of the top voices. CASTANARC are a neo-prog act but never get too synthy for my liking instead delivering a gentle but complex offering which I am sure will please all prog heads. They never get too loud or out of control and keep focus on building vocal harmonies and beautiful sonic architecture. At times I think "Journey..." carries a slight Alan PARSONS touch. "Journey To The East" is a real cult prog classic and is a great album to sit and listen to.
Report this review (#18811)
Posted Monday, March 15, 2004 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars An enchanting release from the first wave of neo-prog, featuring a sound a lot like early Marillion but with a more pronounced Yes influence - particularly when it comes to Mark Holiday's vocals, which include more than a few hints of Jon Anderson's delivery. Paul Ineson rivals Steve Rothery when it comes to long, drawn-out David Gilmour-inspired guitar solos, whilst the keyboard work of David Powell is a constant feature of the album, and is rather charming. Whilst I wouldn't put the album in the top flight of neo-prog releases from the era, it's most of the way there, and they certainly don't deserve the comparative obscurity they seem to have fallen into compared to the likes of Pallas, Solstice and other neo-prog also-rans from the period.
Report this review (#581365)
Posted Saturday, December 3, 2011 | Review Permalink
Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This was their debut and at 1984 one of the earlier Neo-Prog album releases. Pretty laid back for the most part, really relaxed and to be honest a fairly big improvement on the album to come called "Rude Politics" from 1988. Still there's little here that would move me to give a higher rating. The two longest tracks are worth mentioning. "The Fool" at over 8 1/2 minutes opens with the fool speaking in a strange processed manner. A beat, bass, guitar and vocals follow, keyboards too. It calms right down to piano and vocals then we get this instrumental section of synths, bass and drums as it continues to play out. The title track ends the album and it's 7 1/2 minutes long and the best one in my opinion. I like how it starts with the synths creating atmosphere as the vocals join in. It builds then kicks into a full sound. Hey I like the seagulls to start and end "Travelling Song" a common sound around here in the summer.
Report this review (#2493785)
Posted Thursday, January 14, 2021 | Review Permalink

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