THE WAKE

Although I gave Tales From the Lush Attic five stars, there were specific reasons (which you can read in my review). And I spoke of a "joyful naivete" in its approach.

There is no such naivete here! From the confident opening synth figure, you know that IQ has matured in a remarkable way. With the exception of The Thousand Days (the demo of the song is better), every song on this album shows a clear direction, a great deal of creativity, and a far more confident approach to songwriting and arrangement. And unlike many bands that wear their influences in their sleeves, IQ makes valiant attempts to channel those influences (mostly Genesis and Pink Floyd) into something new and creative - and they succeed far more often than they fail. In addition, the musicianship is quite good, each member having both a good sense of their own creativity and a good sense of the Genesis member they "represent." And a listen to Corners, Widow's Peak and Headlong gives a good idea of the direction IQ would ultimately take, toward an even more intense, confident "classic" progressive approach (but only after a strange 2-album interlude).

Despite the derivative quality of this album (which is not a put-down), I definitely recommend it for any prog-rock collection. 3.5 stars.

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