LIES TO LIVE BY

A must listen IMHO! You will be yet again astonished at the great music from this period! Amazing album! Tasty arrangements, fresh, alive ideas and spirit. From the first notes you can tell the muse was with them. A true gem.

Vocals are very good with excellent voices. Clean and wonderful sound. The craftsmanship gleams with polish. The vocals have one foot in 60s folk but they stretch the tunes in exciting ways and have such a great grooves and emotions. Full of pleasant and very musical surprises. Highly listenable.

I am ever astonished at how much great music was being made during the 60's and 70's.From practically all corners of the Earth. No doubt the wars and the advent of electronic media and instruments, radio, etc. were the seeds that sprouted that generation. A new world, a new frontier. One we are still exploring. Often these days you hear bands trying to recreate these earlier styles. Ugh. Faux. I don't mind taking anything as a starting point but if you are always conscious of "coloring within the lines", well, it's nothing but painting by numbers, is it? This album is the real deal and has twists and turns that delight. Highly recommended!

The final record by these Canadians ( also known as Christmas) is a very fine prog rock/ hard rock concept release. The material ranges from softly spoken ballads to guitar-dominated suites. When they started it in 1972 they were influenced by Jethro Tull, so the bed tracks (basic drum, bass, rhythm guitars) reflect that. Then the record company nearly went under and the project was stopped By the time they got back to it, the band had all been profoundly affected by The Mahavishnu Orchestra! The end result is kind of like John McLaughlin jamming with Jethro Tull but there are certainly other influences as well. A couple of tunes feature astonishing lead guitar work, and mellotron can also be heard on "Requiem War's Peace" and most of side 2."Lies to Live By is another highly recommended progressive rock gem from the 70s