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BunChakeze - Whose Dream? CD (album) cover

WHOSE DREAM?

BunChakeze

 

Crossover Prog

3.78 | 133 ratings

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AtomicCrimsonRush
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Pink Floyd inspired beautiful ambience with polyrhthymic patterns

Bun Chakeze's new album has been a work in progress for some time and I had the privilege of listening to the earlier versions of these tracks ans now finally the album is complete. "Whose Dream" is comprised of 9 tracks of exceptional quality.

"Bun Chakeze" (instrumental) begins proceedings with a short sharp shock of prog; fast tempo, blazing guitars, hammering keyboards and frenetic drumming. A good start to the day.

"Whose Dream" is acoustic beauty, with a nice gentle vocal delivery. Lyrics are reflective; 'you're running on seas preparing to go whose dream are you dreaming,' you know it sounds like the vocal style of Pink Floyd's 'Pigs on the Wing' at least the melody, but better vocal style than Roger Waters from Joey Lugassy. The ambience of sustained key pads and wind howling effects are terrific... 'screaming and shouting outside they're wild... pitching their tents just like a child...' the lyrics are part of the emotive vibe and then the soaring guitars of Colin Tench take it to another level. A satisfactory track for certain.

"Walk In Paradise" features low droning synthesizers sounding like Gary Numan of the 80s, and a crash of cymbals herald the lead guitars, sounding a bit like Steve Howe of Yes. The synth motif is joined by Lugassy's vocals 'darkness beckons me for the time has come, there's a new horizon... angels take me where I have never been, I've been to paradise, it's not a dream...' the time sig then changes direction and a harmonious feel sets in. Gilmour like guitars chime in. An enjoyable twin guitar passage follows and innovative percussion of Cliff Deighton. The time sig shifts again and the pace quickens considerably. There is a lot of prog noodling in this section, particularly the fractured guitar riffs and fret melting lead work. It slows again to a moderate pace. A true mini epic worth a listen.

"Handful Of Rice" is next and the piano is relentless on this and the vocals come in immediately and are more up in the mix; 'With grave intent times were spent dancing on the streets..' the vocals continue, 'once the winner once the sinner but who is counting now?' When he sings 'in moments of silence' and whispers 'silence' it reminds me of Peter Hammill whispering 'waterbabies' in Van der Graf Generator. The Spanish flavour acoustics and erratic drum metrical patterns are wonderful. At times it feels like early Genesis, in fact the vocals sound as theatrical as Gabriel in places; 'With a handful of rice we open the door when we pay the price we kept the score'. It continues into an impressive instrumental section and ends on high pitched synth notes.

"Flight of the Phoenix" is a compelling track. Acoustic picking and ambient key pads opens it. I like the guitar playing in particular here, reminiscent of the intro to many metal songs of the 80s. The vocals are quieter and melancholy. I like the feel of this which does not have a time sig to latch onto but is still mesmirising with long pauses in music. An improvised style guitar break on acoustic drives it. At 2:55 the drums crash in and lifts the atmosphere. It doesn't build much from here for a while and could have done with some extra instruments to take it to the heights rather than staying on the same level. Eventually, the lead break is a good addition however, in fact the lead begins to soar and then there is a drum break and the pace goes into double time and is very quick till it suddenly ends.

"Midnight Skies" is the show piece of the album in many ways. The vocals are higher in places like Gilmour has performed in recent years. The lead break takes off and sounds beautiful like 'Comfortably Numb'. There is a quirky staccato guitar riff that grows on me. The majestic feel is echoed by lyrics about huge concepts, 'dreams of peace are shattered all around...' It sounds like Gabriel again. The synth lines are great but the guitars especially blaze away on this with a phase effect and long sustained string bends, ala Gilmour. The lyrics are intriguing: 'November 1964 rattlesnake boots at dawn by cannonballs shattering the peace.... run free as the wind under midnight skies'. The music fades and this is a definitive highlight.

"Long Distance Runner" features an infectious little guitar riff and a strong vocal; 'look at the world through hazy diamond eyes... follow the footsteps of those from the past, they'll show you the way to go'. There is a lot of vocalisations on this, non stop in places not allowing the music to breathe but its relentless pace settles with a divine synthesiser lead. There is a spacey section with Alex Foulcer's piano, Tench's echoing guitars and strong drumming from Deighton. Gary Derrick's basslines are good when we hear those synth lines that sound like whales screeching similar to Pink Floyd's "Echoes". Lugassy's storytelling vocals return with: 'A prisoner in a king's disguise, why chase the sun, a man whose life depends on the sound of a gun, now I know, I know there's no turning back, close my eyes, shut out the light, prepare to attack attack attack attack...' Gabriel is channelled again and I love it. A great track by any standards.

"The Deal" features a very Pink Floyd like guitar riff reminiscent of the chugging riff in 'Run Like Hell' or 'The Happiest days of our lives'... you know the one. It even features a helicopter effect mid way through just like on 'The Wall'. I really like this one and it pays homage to Pink Floyd in the guitar lead style too. I love that lead break sound, a huge blast of notes. The lengthy instrumental break is excellent. The vocals are estranged and echoing like a psychedelic song. The loud thunder crashes are effective and echoing scratches on guitar. One of the highlights for sure and it will definitely remind listeners of various riffs from 'The Wall', and that's not a bad thing. I like the lyrics too and the way they lock in to the various melodies; 'Seem to be confused time to fade into, the words that you say, you can't run away... Now you understand it's taken from your hand... you've had your final deal'. The final instrumental section features spacey synth and innovative guitar flourishes; a delightful wall of sound.

"Bun Chakeze Reprise (instrumental)" finishes the album. To end the album we return to the melodies of the title track. It is familiar now on my 6th listen and the album has definitely grown on me. The reprise brings the album full cycle.

In conclusion I gained a lot of enjoyment from this album, in particular the standout tracks are The Deal, Long Distance Runner, Midnight Skies, Walk In Paradise and Flight of the Phoenix. Overall the album has a solid neo prog feel with shades of symphonic and crossover prog. I can recommend this as one of the great prog albums of recent times.

AtomicCrimsonRush | 4/5 |

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