A MILLION VACATIONS

While not all Max Webster would classify as prog.rock, this one IS their _prog.rock_ album. Max Webster is unique in a Be Bop Deluxe kind of way. Not overtly prog.rock, but pretty darn close. They can sound as lush as Steely Dan, as heavy as Deep Purple, as progressive as Rush and as quirky as Gentle Giant...all in one track. Throw in a little Frank Zappa and some Canterbury sounds to boot. 4 stars overall, but 5 stars as THE Max Webster masterpiece(a close 2nd would be _High Class In Borrowed Shoes_ which is their sophomore effort). What follows is the best review I've ever read of Max Webster's _A Million Vacations_ which appears on the Canadian Amazon.ca site:

On the fourth album by Sarnia, Ontario's most significant contribution to Canadian rock, Max Webster's gonzo prog-rock style starts to give way to the poppier, more radio-ready sound that would define singer- guitarist Kim Mitchell's '80s solo albums. Terry Watkinson's synth keyboards are more prominent on A Million Vacations than on Max Webster's early discs, and the exuberant Paradise Skies and Night Flights certainly wouldn't seem out of place on Mitchell's double-platinum Akimbo Alogo, released five years later in 1984. At the same time, A Million Vacations still has plenty of the band's gonzo sense of humour and idiosyncratic take on '70s arena rock. Rascal Houdi is a rave-up that fits somewhere in style between Del Shannon and Frank Zappa, while the centrepiece pair of Sun Voices and Moon Voices combine spacey, Yes-style portentousness with a rhythm section that can't help but boogie. Best of all is the title track, a classic rock radio staple. Anybody who's grown up in a small town knows exactly what Max Webster are getting at when they sing that you can only drive down Main Street so many times. --Jason Anderson