SKY

SKY were a band of 5 excellent and versatile musicians, all veterans of the 70's music industry, performing totally instrumental music with a mainstream edge to it. The main attraction here though would have to be Francis Monkman, keyboardist of the original line-up of CURVED AIR. His work here on keys is often beautiful (piano, harpsichord, clavinet and synths), complimentary to the other band members' classical approach to composition and performance - indeed Aussie John Williams is a master of classical guitar, often incorporating jazz, rock and even folk elements in his playing. The rhythm section of Tristan Fry (dr/perc.) and Herbie Flowers (bass) are capable of handling the diversity of the involved arrangements, and lastly, a second guitarist/composer in Kevin Peek completes the line-up. As a few pointers here, ALAN PARSON'S PROJECT and early 80's CAMEL come to mind. Soft-Prog maybe - accessible, but skillfully played - much of the complexities are overshadowed by the smoothness of the production and the highly melodic nature of the songs. Side 1 features 5 short pieces, of which the stand-out would be their arrangement of Satie's 'Gymnopedie No. 1' - just love that gentle beauty, Monkman's keys are wonderfully ethereal here. The remaining tracks are mostly undemanding and pleasant on the ears - up-tempo opener 'Westway' has that noticeable APP feel to it, 'Carrillon' is classical and mainly acoustic, 'Danza' is folky, said Satie piece is superb and 'Cannonball' is again similar to APP with a commercial and catchy arrangement. The 'meat' of the album is Monkman's side-long contribution 'Where Opposites Meet' - a keyboard-heavy journey full of captivating themes, occasional odd time sigs, great ideas and shifting moods. The musicianship is tight, especially the interplay between keys and guitars. The bass playing is solid for the most part, though elaborate at times and the drums are kept simple. 3 star effort here, as massive improvement came on their next album 'SKY 2'.