CERULEAN BLUE

Cerulean Blue is a musical and lyrical journey of one man (Rick) and a journey across America. The lyrics are thoughtful and poignant, and the orchestral mood of the album flows beautifully through the tracks. Although some of the compositions may dawdle a bit musically and seem underdeveloped, there is still great wonderful music to be appreciated. The appeal will probably be towards more classic prog fans, because it combines the layers of sound and haunting instrumentation of space rock with more mainstream lyrical attributes like those found in crossover and some symphonic and eclectic bands. It is by all means worth checking out, since it is for free on Rain's website, though some listeners may be dissapointed, even though there are wonderful pieces to be found on the album.

The concept can feel a bit choppy sometimes, since each track begins in a similar way, with Rick describing the new American city he has come across, ending each letter with "Wish You Were Here". However, the music starts up well enough in each track, some better than others. Sometimes the intros are a bit cheesy, like in the beginning of "Lights and Magic", telling about a director in Hollywood trying to lure the narrator to be an extra in one of his films. Most of the time though, the tracks begin spectacularly, and the music matches well too. There is a soft orchestral backing of "Parsifal", about New York, with an excellent saxophone on top of the rest of the music. "Jerusalem" has a spectacular build, and ends up with a sound similar to the crossover acts like Peter Gabriel. Those who have listened to the album will also note the wonderful though sad ending "Cerulean Blue", about the end of the narrator's journey on top of Mt. McKinley in Alaska.

Of course, there are a couple problems with the album. It doesn't really flow all together, as tracks are pretty separate musically, and though this shouldn't be a problem, songs don't seem to fit together sometimes. Also a lot of the tracks are horribly drawn out and extended beyond what they should, with the tracks averaging around 7 minutes in length with their only sound a couple ideas and repeated orchestral or instrumental themes.

Of course, this is still a really good album to check out. Fans of softer prog should definetely enjoy it. Those who like more energetic, technical, or heavier music may want to stay away, though they should keep an open mind. In any event, there is no reason why one shouldn't give at least one listen to it, as the musicianship, lyrics, and composition are excellent. After all, it is for free.