MOONSHINE

The Polish band COLLAGE from Warsaw certainly had an interesting start. Losing its first vocalist after the debut and then introducing the new singer with an entire album of John Lennon cover songs. It seemed the band was destined to spiral out of existence but rather than sputtering into oblivion persevered by sheer determination and cranked out the best album of its first run in the form of MOONSHINE which followed in the traditions of the wealth of sounds from the 80s English neo-prog scene. The band headed to Holland to record eight tracks that would end up on the Dutch label SI and in the process ended up with an international hit with MOONSHINE as it scratched the right neo-prog itch as the 1990s were finding the world of progressive rock in full scale revival mode.

Poland was a hotbed of up and coming neo-prog bands emerging from every nook and cranny of the nation. Acts like Quidam, Abraxas and Annalist were finding audiences well outside the homeland and COLLAGE was at the top of the spearhead after the release of its lauded debut "Baśnie" which charted internationally despite featuring lyrics in the indecipherable to most Polish language. While replacement vocalist Robert Amirian proved he fit the slot as the new vocalist on the head scratching sophomore release "Nine Songs Of John Lennon," it wouldn't be until MOONSHINE that he could really showcase his ability to convey the emotional passion and sensual warmth that neo-prog fans demanded from their favorite bands.

MOONSHINE delivers all the neo-prog goods and then some. Dominated by ubiquitous use of keyboards, this third album from COLLAGE evoked the highlights of the 80s neo-prog scene and built upon it with layers of synthesized atmospheric backdrops, lush piano rolls and super tight melodic compositions that highlighted Amirian's tender and fragile vocal style. Sounding somewhat like Marillion's second vocalist Steve Hogarth, in many ways COLLAGE usurped the role that Marillion itself seemed to have dropped in favor of a sound more rooted in alternative rock than neo-prog. The results of the endless cascade of swirling synthesizers, dreamy lyrical vocal deliveries and lush Hackett inspired guitar sweeps offer a veritable smooth slice of neo-prog with the music rarely attaining a hard edge (rare moments occur on tracks like "The Blues" which offer a few more upbeat moments).

The most dynamic performer on this set is clearly drummer Wojtek Szadkowski who offers some very subtle yet dynamic percussive moves that make use of the entire drum kit including the ample use of cymbal action. While the radio hit friendly opener "Heroes Cry" may evoke a sense of cheesiness, the album quickly tackles the more complex realms of the neo-prog-verse with the following "In Your Eyes" eking out a 14-minute run of dynamic melodic twists and turns. Out of the album's eight tracks, three extend past the 11-minute mark which allows for some serious crescendo inducing fortitude to build up and COLLAGE does an excellent job at taking simple sensual melodies and incrementally building upon them to maximize their potential. The production is worthy of mention as it allows every little nuance to reverberate with glee. While some may lament the use of reverb, personal i find it to be effective.

While COLLAGE certainly didn't reinvent the neo-prog wheel so to speak in the way that more innovative bands like Abraxas brought to the table, MOONSHINE is a very distinguished and refined album experience that runs the gamut of neo-prog attributes and delivers them with a sheen. Crafty compositions steeped in emotive melodic hooks, layered keyboard effects that offer the proper neo-space rock effect and the excellent addition of innovative percussion and keyboard use, COLLAGE scored with MOONSHINE which remains the band's most revered album of their short canon before splintering off into various bands like Satellite, Mr. Gil and Strawberry Fields. If neo-prog is measured by the passion of the performances rather than the technical wizardry then COLLAGE scores high with its third album which offers a dynamic even expansive overview of what the entire world of neo-prog had projected to the world at this point. Fans of cheerful upbeat bands like Jadis, Pendragon and Citizen Cane will surely love this one.