NEW ENGLAND

My deep feeling about this band is that since day one they have produced some very good rock albums, seriously US oriented. Is this just a normal "retour" that they decided to cross the ocean and record this album (well named anyway) on the East cost? Probably.

This album sounds is truly too much US oriented to my liking. AOR has never been my cup of tea and I have to admit that I had quite a difficult moment while listening to this "New England" record.

Of course, there are still some great (but scarce and short) guitar breaks, but hey: this is still "Wishbone Ash" right? But these few moments can't overshadow the poor global result. I am not even talking about prog of course, but this was never a relation that was obvious to me while listening to this good band.

Of course, all tastes are in nature! I am not used to refer to my fellow prog reviewers, but I will this time. Two of the most knowledgeable and best reviewers of this site (Hughes and Bob IMHHO) have rated this album with 1 star (Hughes) and 4 stars (Bob). This is definitely highlighting that the way we receive music is quite personal.

The best song from this work is "Outward Bound" which features a fabulous guitar moment; like we are used to with WA. If only more of these magical parts were available! Instead, such a poor track as "When We Love" takes over. Even if it is partially saved by a good mid section of ? guitar sounds of course.

I have been quite generous with the band so far in their musical history; and I won't be too harsh either with this one. Just be warned that this is a truly AOR oriented album with some great guitar parts. That's it. At times ("Lonely Island"), the shadow of the great Carlos can even be felt.

Two stars overall. Sub-par rock music.