PHASE 2

Not exactly sure what these guys set out to do except maybe try to be MO what The Musical Box is to Genesis, but the philosophy appears different: although maintaining the spirit very tightly, the tracks being revisited are often expanded (some almost doubling their original duration) and they add a composition of theirs. With a shadowy artwork, evoking the famous birds, present on two MO covers, this double CD will, sort of, give what you've always waited for, a live version of those first two perfections of albums. This is true up to certain point, because you (as a total) will quickly realize that it is not the MC boys playing, their so-typical and virtuoso play being inimitable and almost impossible to reproduce faithfully.

Another puzzling thing is they call this album Phase 2, but all of the tracks they chose come exclusively from the MkI line-up and even more precisely from IMF and BoF, bar the lone Lila's Dance from Emerald. Actually the only non-MO track, drummer Bendian's Within The Womb Of Night is sonically close enough to MO, but Bendian played it safe, sounding much like Hope. Never an easy judgment on such projects, especially on a tribute to such a perfect band as MO, MP's Phase 2 might just be worth your investment, but I doubt that you'll get much mileage out of this double disc affair. I thank my library system for having me spared the hunt and investment.