SNOW

This is a very interesting album indeed! You can tell from first listen that it is very influenced by Genesis's master work, The Lamb Lies Down, but I think it goes deeper than that. Unlike it's predecessor, Snow is made up entirely of short songs that get to the point, unlike previous efforts. It opens with the fantastic Made Alive/Overture, which is a brilliant paradoxical effort, starting off with a sweet acoustic minute and suddenly breaking out into some hardcore progressive music, with some really great 13/8 riffage. The rest up until Devil's Got My Throat is pretty lame if you want my honest opinion, and it's merely another flashback into Neal's poppier mainstream side. The trilogy of the next 3 songs however make the album worth listening to. Devil's Got My Throat is one of my favourite Spock songs ever, and it is a prog rock journey to be reckoned with! Starting out with some hard rocking riffs, a gllorious middle section and an ending that is reminiscent of Gentle Giant, I love it. Open Wide The Flood Gates Parts 1 and 2 are very chilled out compared to the heavier side of the album, and has some very nice jazz influenced electric piano in the middle jam sections. The following two songs are nothing special however, which is a real shame.

Side 2 is quite disappointing. 2nd Overture is as a brilliant opener, typical Spock's Beard style prog, similar to 1st Overture. I love the time signature changes in this one, and the bass is especially worth noting. 4th of July is a very good track, repeating the musical themes of the album. Once again, however, there is the big 3 song gap that drags the album down. All is replenished however with the stunning prog-pop song Looking For Answers and the rocker Freak Boy. I especially like the chorus in Looking For Answers, a little too catchy maybe! From here on though, it starts to get ugly. Nothing interesting about the next bit, apart from the fact of What the hell is the 13th track all about???. OK, Ryo is impressive on the keyboards, but this song is very out of place.

So overall, the verdict is not good, because of the repeated crap between decent songs. This is the start of Spock's descent into the garbage dump with their self-titled album. 3stars, only because I'm loyal to the band.