SNOW

I was lucky and got sent a reviewer's copy of "Snow "(apparently the best tracks crammed onto a single CD), and then somebody lent me the proper double with the bonuses. The following is my reaction to hearing the unedited version of Side One of "Snow": - initially I was pleased by catchy riffs, but very quickly I found myself fussing and asking myself: where that riff come from, ah here's the Yes bit, hey now the Gentle Giant chorus, goodness not heard them do that before but which bit of Deep Purple was that lifted from, oh no Genesis again. I took me about 40 minutes to realise I wasn't really listening to the music as a whole, but rather getting very cross that SB had again given the loyal but seemingly complaint fan base, another lot of derivative retro (prog) rock. But at least they play their own instruments. (And "The Kindness Of Strangers" is amongst my top 5 of 90's prog albums, where SP just about avoided the cliches heard on albums released either side of it).

I didn't do more than sample disc two and didn't tarry with nothing to hold my attention - I've got much more original music to hear. But I'll confess, I still play bits of the album in a very selective way, even on my radio show when"The Devil's Got My Throat" is announced as SP's tribute to early Deep Purple. (Is Spocks Beard is the Ocean Colour Scene of prog rock?). As a concept album, it never came anywhere near the classic concept albums of old, there is too little to hold my attention to bother with the underlying story.

In many respects I'm glad Neil Morse left SP, personally I felt he burnt his batteries out with the amount of touring and composing he was doing both for SP and Transatlantic, and it showed in many of the albums he did after "Kindness".