THE LEMMINGS WERE PUSHED

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Superbly crafted complex instrumental prog with a excellent musicianship. MIND GALLERY are a 4 piece Canadian prog outfit who love to develop wicked extended jams and play highly refined and ever moving music. MIND GALLERY are a very original band and play a style of prog which is not easy to make comparisons to (somewhere in the RUSH/SAGA school). "The Lemmings Were Pushed" carries a fairly bright and upbeat flavor with a real crisp feeling to it. This is definitely not background elevator music and as the album suggests, for best results - frame of mind and headphones required. A great find....

One of the pleasures of listening to progressive rock is the discovery of music that truly progresses, both within the piece, between pieces and between releases. A particular track might even end as it started, taking a listener on a vast aural journey along the way. On rare occasions, such as throughout Mind Gallery's debut, we appear to be stuck on a 5 second repeat sequence played out over 5-10 minutes, at which point we are extricated only to plunge back into yet another seemingly infinite loop.

I have tried to get into this CD numerous times over the nearly 15 years it has been in my possession. I always start off thinking that I misjudged the material and wasn't attentive enough. This is partly because the first track, "Into the Light", is the best, but mostly because the production is a monument to the digital age, and it all just sounds so good, for a bit. I am not saying there is no progression happening, well, actually I am saying that. We do have variations on a theme and some instrumental prowess on display, but all the variations come and go without really extending the theme or bringing it to another level. Mind Gallery reminds me of groups like the Celtic rock band Gwendal from France in the sense that they seem to be great fans of minimalism but have forgotten that part of the movement is in its understatement. For physical headbanging fans prefer metal, and if they want a moral to be drilled into them they go for songs with lyrics.

Mind Gallery also reminds me of a vastly superior current Canadian group "Talisma", who play that jangly vaguely Crimson-esque style but do so with a great deal more panache. Two different ways of handling the circular motifs, one a monumental failure, the other an equally resounding achievement. I could try to find a way to bump the rating up to 2 stars, but it would not be fair to the lemmings who, if they were listening to Mind Gallery at the time, would have welcomed the push.

Elio Bruno (keyboards), Tracy Gloeckner (drums) and Mike Anderton (guitars) of Mind Gallery were playing together since late-70's, with One-Eyed King being their first regular band along with Dennis Vasile on bass, but the Vancouver-based quartet wasn't meant to stay because of the rocky relationship beyween Anderton and Gloeckner.Elio and Tracy continued to play together and by late-80's they decided to form Mind Gallery with Anderton returning this time on bass duties, while Bruno brought in guitarist Gary Bourgeois, who was running a local music store once Bruno visited.In 1991 ''The Lemmings Were Pushed'' was self-released and produced on the Mind Games label.

We are talking about early-90's here, Progressive Rock revival was still in an embryonic phase, but these guys were determined to play uncommercial and complicated music.The album is a very intricate mix of Symphonic Progressive Rock and Fusion with plenty of keyboard work, led by Bruno's great talent, but also some nice performances by the rest of the crew.An all instrumental effort, ''The Lemmings Were Pushed'' offers series of dramatic deliveries, where complex keyboard-driven Fusion meets perfectly melodic symphonic-inclined breaks.The keyboard work is simply fascinating with lots of sudden breaks, atmospheric synths and virtuosic playing, Bruno can really play in a masterful level to say the least.The guitar work of Bourgeois is another highlight.From complicated odd time signatures to jazzy solos and from superb melodic touches to some great interplays with Bruno's keyboards.The rhythm section is strong and solid and all these musicians managed to create a stable, rich and coherent style, much with its own personality.The superb dreamy passages alternating with the demanding technical instrumental parts are endless, fully-inspired and captivating, making the album almost a must-have.

Excellent Symphonic/Fusion with plenty of interplays but also a huge sense of melody.I recommened the album highly to all fans of true Progressive Rock and especially those into acts like HOLDING PATTERN, THE EDHELS or KURT RONGEY.A huge Canadian surprise indeed.