FEAR

3.5 stars. Very melodic, accessible music that will put a smile on your face.These guys do not take themselves too seriously, as seen by the very funny pictures of each band member inside the liner notes. Mark Robothom really shows his stuff on the drum- kit, after this record he would go on to form the more complex THIEVE'S KITCHEN.

Highlights for me are the opener "And Finally" which begins rather ominously, then a keyboard melody with drums follows, the guitar replaces the keys as things heat up.Time changes, mood shifts, guitar solos it's all here on this song. I like the way the riff increases with speed and then stops, this happens throughout this song. "Roller Coaster" features some good guitar melodies and "A Modern Day Cavalier" is a mellow song. "Final Decree" has some angry lyrics and "Paper Chase" is quite intense. "Usurper" is another good one, with lots of keyboards and great vocals, a very pleasant tune.

As I said a fun listen but it's certainly not a must have.

The third album of this band has seen some dramatic personnel changes. Louis David on the keys and Julian Hunt on guitar (for family reasons) have left the band and Mark Westworth and Steve Anderson took respectively the follow-up.

This won't affect the "GLD" sound. It is still governed by lush keyboards and brilliant vocal parts. I have mentioned this already, but it is a real pleasure to listen to the soft, expressive and passionate Martin Wilson. The only problem is probably that "GLD" seems to repeat themselves here but I still like these melodious songs with lots of synths, convincing rhythm and at times crying guitar. "Roller Coaster" being of good illustration.

Some "Trespass-esque" intro for "A Modern Day Cavalier". This is probably the most delicate song from this band. Much more symphonic than neo-prog. A magnificent melody; almost too harmonious to be true. Martin is so communicative, so convincing, so emotional. A very simple and basic song after all; but sometimes it is just enough to create this little extra. A very touching number.

The "Genesis" mood was also to be noticed during the weirdy titled but beautiful "And Finally". The opening number is strongly keyboard-oriented. But I'm sure that these link either irritates or seduces. I belong to the seduced ones.

"Sliding" is another long piece (over ten minutes) that needs some time to really quick off. It sounds a bit chaotic, which is not really a habbit for the band. Again, what speaks me more here is the great and melodious chorus. I am totally charmed. These guys have an incredible feeling to write catchy songs. But their simplicity might be rejected by purists (or complex minds). Steve Anderson will also introduce some very good guitar accents, while the same orgy of keys (seriously Banks oriented again) are leading the whole somptuously. This is a highlight and one of the best "GLD" song.

Another great one will close this very good album. It is the end of the trilogy started on their debut effort. "Paper Chains" is the final part of the epic suite "The Crime". The first two episodes were the highlights on the "The Crime". This final part is somewhat weaker. It will get a better exposure in their excellent live album "The Times Of Our Lives" during which the band will play it for the very first time in its integrity.

With "Fear", the band released another very pleasant album. Very much "Genesis" like. IMHHO, it is better than their second "Forces". Four stars.

As an owner of three studio albums by this band I think it's interesting to look at the development by reviewing their third album. I appraised their debut with 4 stars and its successor with 3 and at first I thought this release was going to be a tough call in between. But after listening one more time I came to the conclusion that 4 stars is the right call and I will explain why.

The debut album was a pretty accessible one with two great epics that made me decide for 4 stars whilst the successor was more of a strange album that made my appreciation go in undulation. At first I liked it but in course of time it slipped away from me not standing the test of time and gave it 3 because of that. I'm telling this because of the coming statement that I believe with this album Fear they came to full maturity. The compositions are very steady and make me love all of them just as much as in the beginning. And that's at the same time the second conclusion I want to state: all songs of this album are very much worth while, making it an all over great performance. Really a pity they weren't appreciated more in the years of their existence because it's very likely it was the main reason for their break up. I remember a live gig by GLD in the Netherlands where I was one of just about 25 people. It's really embarrassing both for the audience as for the band to experience something like that. And then worse of all was there were even two more bands to perform. Anyway, it proved the band wasn't really making it over here, I don't know the situation in England but in my country they didn't succeed obviously.

I think with more appreciation they could have had a shining career because quality wasn't really the problem. It was probably a matter of promotion and PR and things like that. Real shame but slight consolation: this album gets 4 stars by me and I would recommend it to any neo progger that is willing to check out unknown material. I myself will try to lay hold of their last album because it's missing in my collection and I want to be complete with this band !

Third album of Lady Grey Down from 1997, keeping the same level with the predecesor, and I mean solid song writting and top notch musicianship. Haveing a strange cover art with a big title of the album - Fear spelled on entire front cover art and aswell funny band pictures inside the booklet, this neo prog band done it again big time. Again elaborated pieces, quite long, some of them over 10 min, whre simply all the members truly shines on each instrument. Brilliant keyboards arrangements, solig guitar lines, drums sounds better then before, so a great album with a cristal sound. The main members and the ones who done the most hard work on previous album Forces the keyboard player Louis David and the guitarist Juliant Hunt , left the band , for family reasons, this time replaced by another two excellent musicians, respectivly Mark Westworth behind the keyboards and on six strings Steve Anderson. They've done a pretty good work here aswell, almost never knowing that they are new members, they integrated very well in the Grey Lady Down sound. Martin Wilson from vocals department did aagain a great and spectacular vocal arrangemenst, from mellow passages to more rougher ones, this guy kick major ass in his field, one of the perfect voices for neo prog, and above all he is not a copy of Fish, Gabriel like 80% of the singers from this fiels. Unique and talented vocalist. All pieces are very strong , just listen to the excellent Roller coaster, and Finally, superb songwritting with blistering keyboards. I will give another 4 stars for sure, recommended one of the better bands from neo prog zone who are very underrated in my opinion, quite far from another bands in poplarity, and for sure needs a wider recognition because they are very good. One of the most enjoyble bands and without reason very unnoticed.

And finally... something a bit better

With their third album release, Grey Lady Down finally managed to avoid sounding derivative and indistinctive. With the present album - that was given the title Fear - the band took their first steps out of stylistic anonymity and towards their own musical identity and the end result is certainly something a little bit more original than anything they offered us before. Indeed, for this reviewer, Fear was the first good Grey Lady Down album. After having listened to all four of the band's studio albums, I can only assume that the only reason for which people like the first two albums is nostalgia. On these earlier albums, Grey Lady Down simply wore their influences on their sleeves and produced music in the already well-established style of the British Neo-Prog scene of the 80's with (early) Marillion standing out as the most obvious role model. Maybe many people were starved on this kind of music in the early 90's (about ten years after the first Neo-Prog bands emerged), but today, albums like Grey Lady Down's 1994 debut, The Crime, and the 1995 follow-up, Forces (both rated with two stars each), sound seriously dated. (Besides, bands like Pendragon were doing that sort of thing much better at the same time). It is in this context that Fear sounded a bit more refreshing to these ears.

Compared to the earlier recordings of the band, Fear is a more mature effort; it is less derivative and much less 80's sounding. It also has a harder edge (even heavy at some points!) and is darker in both tone and subject matter. I would say that the compositions here are more complex and developed too. To what extent this rejuvenation and revitalization of the band was due to the replacements in both the keyboard department and the guitar department is unclear, but I suspect it had a lot to do with it. Judging from this album, Mark Westworth is a better and more interesting keyboard player than the previous Louis David and Steve Anderson a superior and more powerful guitarist compared to Julian Hunt. With Westworth and Anderson on board, Grey Lady Down seems to have acquired a newfound confidence and the whole band benefits here including singer Martin Wilson who sounds better here than in the past.

While I find this album to be more enjoyable than the previous ones by Grey Lady Down, the material here is not that much stronger. Fear is an enjoyable listen for sure, but the songs are again not particularly memorable; unlike with the previous two albums, Fear is a rather pleasurable listen, but afterwards I don't remember any of its melodies. It never really grips me. There is also not enough diversity and variation on this album to make it really exciting. And, the cover art picture is simply dreadful!

An improvement for sure, but still far from essential