SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

It may seem silly to nitpick such an influential and well-composed album, but I feel conflicted to give this album a 5-star status mainly because of the less than competent drumming of Mick Pointer. This album would have been infinitely better with a better drummer, and thus it is not absolutely perfect. However, let me tell you why this album is still an extremely excellent addition to any prog collection.

1. Script for a Jester's Tear- Wonderful opening song here introducing us to the world of Fish. Fish's vocals and lyrics are perfect on this track, Kelly's keyboards are great, and Rothery crafts great guitar. Very good song. I'm losing on the swings... I'm losing on the roundabouts! 9/10

2. He Knows You Know- A great song, but possibly the worst one on here. The guitar work is great as usual, Fish keeps his spiteful lyrics and vocals up to a wonderful par here, and the tension in this song is fantastic. Wonderful guitar solo again from Rothery. 8/10

3. The Web- Possibly my favorite on here. The keyboard parts here are amazing and I love the continued pressure between the softer parts with the very odd keyboard effects and Fish's distant vocals and then the more upbeat parts. I absolutely love the part after Decisions have been maaaaaaaaaaaade! and the song breaks out into a wonderful keyboard progression from Kelly and further goes from there. Awesome. 9/10

4. Garden Party- Why is this song so underrated by so many people? The lyrics are fantastic, possibly Fish's best on the entire album, and the keyboards are once again perfect. This actually was a relatively popular song from the album, which is ironic, as people would be singing these lyrics without knowing that they very well could be the subject of them! I really like the overall structure of this one, but it's not perfect. 9/10

5. Chelsea Monday- Another great song. Fish and the crew seem to be very good at really crafting wonderfully crafted songs of a unique yet accessible manner! This song really rocks, especially with another ripping guitar performance by Rothery. Still, it is the song I always remember last for some reason, despite it being quite good. 8/10

6. Forgotten Sons- This is the ultimately perfect closer to this album. Even though I may think The Web could be my favorite song, this is its competition.. and as a song, it is much more objectively effective. The drumming can be overlooked here as Pointer has his best performance. Fish's vocals are FANTASTIC, Rothery plays possibly his most amazing guitar on the album (which really says something), and the song is perfectly structured. This is unarguably one of the greatest neo-progressive tracks ever composed. 10/10

I REALLY want to give this album 5 stars, but it is not a perfect masterpiece. The drumming is one major flaw, and the album is not without flaws... some of the songs are not crafted to absolute perfection and are not as memorable, despite being quite enjoyable. However, this is the first album you should get if you want to delve into neo-prog and it is an album that your collection really shouldn't go without.

A very excellent addition to any progressive rock collection.

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