THE LIGHT

One of my favourite albums from this band, it has a unique charm to it that none of their albums have yet to touch upon again. Sometimes I do wish that they would return to the style of their routes, as it is a unique one, not mainstream in any way, yet it is very melodic, humourous in places and a downright jem. Yes, arguably it has it's bad moments, but who cares? I surely don't, and those mediocre moments are absolutely nothing compared to the music this album has to offer. Now for a track by track, as this is a very deep album:

1. The Light - An excellent start, this still gets played at most of their concerts, and is dubbed as their best song by many fans. There is a very good reason for this: it is reminiscent of the earlier days, still holding a unique structure and top quality musicianship. It is their architypal prog song that should appeal to most classic-era fans. Not the incredible 5/4 intro section, the eerie Garden People section and the finale. Second best off the album - 9.5/10

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2. Go The Way You Go - Yes, here it is, the highlight of the album. This is one of my favourite tracks of all time by this underated band, and they have taken one leaf out of Gentle Giant's book with this song. Not in musical style to say the least, but in their approach to making music. They cram into 12 minutes what most bands would stretch into 20 minutes, keeping the listener interested throughout, and that's the magic of this incredible song. I cannot possibly break this down into sections as there are so many intricate twists, turns and changes in mood. Let us put it this way, you won't be disappointed. Masterpiece - 10/10

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3. The Water - The second epic of the album. A lot of people slate this album because of its unecessary swearing, but I'm a Tool fan, so couldn't care less TBH :P A remember hearing this song live at the Robin Hood 2 in Dudley last year, and I was blown away. It is almost perfect, but this is where the faults lie: first of all, it is too cheesy to listen to more than twice in one day. It's like overdosing on the Beach Boys! The bit I blame for this is the FU/I'm Sorry section. The surrounding areas are very good however. You should note actually that this song is Dave Meros's finest moment, the bass playing is fantastic - 9/10

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4. On The Edge - It's very strange from any band to finish with the shortest song on the album, but these guys have done it, and it doesn't drag the album down in any way. It is, like Go The Way, crammed full. Nothing much can be said about this album, apart from the incredible guitar work, bass playing and melodic structure. It fits the standards of the other 3 tracks very well indeed - 8.5/10

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Total Marks, 37/40

Yes, this is a masterpiece for me. It is almost perfect, and I really cannot see why people slate it so much. Spock would only repeat this sort of standard in 2 later albums: Kindness of Strangers and V. 5stars easily.