SHINE ON BRIGHTLY

The Starcastle formula translated well into a live environment.

"Shine On Brightly" was recorded at Boston, MA. back in 1979 with Starcastle touring to promote their third studio album, "Citadel". The set list has tracks from "Citadel", as well as Starcastle's eponymous album and the follow-up, "Fountains Of Light".

Shine On Brightly" has a good sound quality and catches Starcastle as their best. At Starcastle's best, though, the band will forever carry the tag as an unimaginative Yes "wanna be" outfit. Is this a tag Starcastle deserves? I'm not sure. Starcastle may be influenced by Yes, but they do have some semblance of originality and that American "sensibility" to their music, such as crystal clear vocals and a very melodic sound. This is very evident on "Shine On Brightly".

These guys are great musicians - very talented - and play their brand of Symphonic Prog really well in the live setting. If you are a fan of Starcastle you will enjoy this album; as a casual listener of Starcastle I enjoy this album when it is on, though it is only on when I see it and make a conscious decision to play it. There is nothing on "Shine On Brightly" that is a really memorable, stand out moment or song that makes me seek it out to play over and over again.

Good, but not essential sums up "Shine On Brightly" to a tee! 3/5, no problems. Anything higher would be a furphy; anything lower would be denying the talent of the players.

A live album recorded in the summer of 79, but that didn't get released until much later (01, says the back cover). The weird thing is that we hear the singer announce that their latest (brand new)album is Citadel (released late 77), but they'd released their atrocious Real To Reel since, so something is not clicking right here: either the announced recording and gig date is wrong, or they completely reneg that atrocious album. Most likely, the date is wrong, because the huge majority of the set's list is from Citadel, with only one track each from the debut and the second album. Most likely, this album is really a bootleg, since t misnames Fountains into their second album's titles. Though I can't trace on which album would be Breath And Thunder (it's not on the upcoming RTR album either), so most likely, the track was to come on a subsequent album, but got lost or not selected for RTR. For some, this track alone might be worth the investment, as apparently, this is a Starcastle archives recording of good quality, except for a brief moment where the tape overstretches during Fountains. Nothing surprising for an otherwise good stage representation of a favourite Yes clone, but I'll pass on it.