THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Following the success of their début album "Ring of Roses"and subsequent live performances, Shadowland regrouped in 1993 to record a follow up. Clive Nolan already had much of the material for the album written, the style of the songs being very much in the same vein as the the previous album.

We open with a brief acoustic song,"A matter of perspective" which effectively merges with the upbeat "The hunger" to form an 8½ minute two part song. For their recent concerts, captured on the "Edge of night" DVD, these two track remain entwined as they open the gig. Nolan's vocals show signs of a growing confidence here and throughout the album although I suspect he will never be entirely comfortable as a front man. "The hunger" has all the feel of a track from Arena's latest album (at time of writing), "Pepper's ghost". The catchy hook and powerful instrumentation climaxing in superb lead guitar from Karl Groom.

The epic "Dreams of the ferryman" is for many the high point of "Through the looking glass". This was the last track to be written by Clive for the album, inspired by a recurring dream he was having about a serial killer known as "The ferryman". The song takes us on a wonderful musical journey the lyrics being dark but not overtly disturbing. Towards the end we find some delightful mellotron like sounds, and a Genesis ("Los Endos") like melody. "When the world turns to white", has more in common with older Arena songs the likes of which appeared on that band's first two albums.

"The waking hour" is arguably the most accessible of the songs, and undoubtedly a true crowd pleaser when played live. The pleasing melody and infectious beat combine to form a highly commercial yet still creditable number with a strong hook. The longest track is the 11 minute title song. While there is no apparent overall concept to the album, this track also appears to describe an unsavoury character of sorts. The original closing track was "Mindgames", a softer song which reminds me of Arena's "The visitor" (title track). The piece builds to a repetitive anthem like chorus, with female backing vocals and a lovely, but unfortunately fading, lead guitar break.

The Japanese release of the album, and the Verglas label re-issue both contain the bonus track "So the music stops". As a marked contrast, here we have what is effectively a Clive Nolan solo spot, with just vocal and piano.

While "Through the looking glass" breaks no new ground when compared to its predecessor, we must keep in mind what a fine album "Ring of roses" was. This is a solid second album which serves to consolidate the excellence of the music of Shadowland.

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