THE EPIC QUALITY OF LIFE

This album is a must for fans of classic Genesis.Guerin, a master multi-instrumentalist and a superb vocalist reminiscent of Gabriel at his best, died suddenly at the beginning of 2004 and thus robbed Prog Rock of a potential superstar.

Album opener,The Epic Quality of Life is like a Gabriel-era Genesis for the new millenium and The Edge Of The Earth sounds like the duel drum barrage of Phil Collins and Chester Thompson.Both tracks are sublime in their craft and flawless in their execution.

Best vocal performance is on the "spooky" Monsters In My Room which positively bristles with menace as Guerin the child takes us back to those nightmarish childhood nights of yore.Wonderfully atmospheric keyboards on this one too.

5 To Go thrashes along moving effortlessly up and down through the gears and is another classy instrumental,as is Red Zone the album's Los Endos style closing track.All the other tracks on the album are at least "good" and this is a very strong effort.

I must quickly mention Paul Whitehead's stunning cover.Fellow reviewer Danbo pays it tribute and whilst it is a beautiful piece of work,I'm not sure the Genesis scenes do it any favours.

The strength of this album is also its biggest weakness.Guerin wears his influences on his sleeve and whilst this is an album that gives us a tantalising hint at what a modern "Classic era" Genesis might sound like this simple truth prevents me from giving it 4 stars.It is an excellent addition to any prog music collection,whatever the ratings dictate.