ACROSS THE CIRCLE'S EDGE

This CD is nostalgia for me! In the early Nineties I started to work for the Dutch progrock paper SI Magazine. The owner founded the label SI Music that had (too) strong connections with SI Magazine, eventually this led to their downfall. One of the pros of working for SI Magazine was the fact that you got every SI Music release for free. Those releases were not always my cup of tea (understatement for 'crap'!) but this release still belongs to one of my favorite ones. The six strong compositions (running time 30.23) have obvious echoes from mid-Rush and early Marillion but the dynamics and variety are great, the singer has powerful and expression, the keyboards are tasteful and the guitarist delivers a killer-tribute to Alex Lifeson with many spectacular soli!

Check out E-Bay for this small gem if you don't have a problem with exciting Marillion/Rush wannabees.

This is a review of the latest version of the EP, with the additional keyboards

In 1987, Winter came together as a band in Newtownards, Co. Down, with Johnny Lennie (vocals & lyrics), Rab Beggs (electric/acoustic guitars), Phil Murray (keyboards/additional vocals), Rick Loyer (bass guitar) and John Murphy (drums/percussion). They released this EP on vinyl on their own label in 1990, but what may not be known by many is that it was always just intended to be a demo (because of that there are occasional little timing issues or blips in there in one of 2 places) and the idea was that by using this they would be able to secure a recording deal and then record a complete album. During 1991, having not secured a recording deal, the band decided to attempt a tour of Holland rather than record new material. Murray and Murphy felt that the band should concentrate on writing and recording more songs, as the best means of securing a deal, so they decided to leave. Rab Beggs did tour with Winter in Holland but left after a few gigs and later formed rock groups Mr. Jinx and Native Sun with Phil Murray.

A new version of Winter, still with Loyer and Lennie, formed a new version of the band in London and the EP was remastered and released on CD by SI Music, and to this day is still an album I play regularly. Then, one day when I was perusing the web I discovered that Phil Murray had added keyboard parts that were missing from the original recording, and was making the EP available again. Of course I was soon in touch, and I am now listening to the 'new' version. I have to confess and say that it is almost impossible for me to write anything constructive about this. I saw the later line-up in concert three times, and right from the first I was blown away by the sheer onstage presence of Johnny combined with some of the most wonderful and powerful neo-prog I ever had the pleasure to witness. "Toybox" is just one of the greatest prog epics never to have been heard by many, and I wish for the day when someone discovers this lost gem and restores it to it's rightful place as one of the top in the prog canon. I know this album so very well indeed, that initially I found Phil's keyboards quite jarring as they weren't what I was used to, but the more I played this the more I fell in love with what he had done to the music. Bear in mind he hasn't actually added anything, but rather has replaced something that was missing from something that was never expected to be the finished article.

Many of the 'lost' bands of the Nineties have had their music reissued on CD, and I can only hope that the same fate befalls Winter as to my mind they were a band that had incredible potential and really should have been known by many more progheads. Maybe Phil would consider getting this pressed alongside the tracks that appeared on singles and tapes (it was the Nineties after all), or maybe adding some live recordings?

Sheer quality from start to finish, it is now possible to stream this from the website so if you are at all intrigued as to why I am creating so much fuss why not visit www.winteronline.co.uk and listen for yourself.

WINTER are a MARILLION influenced band with an excellent guitarist who recalls Alex Lifeson at times. These guys are from Belfast, Northern Ireland and you can hear the accent in the singers voice. Please read Kruger's review in regards to the lineup controversy.

"Technocracy" opens with a cool guitar melody as drums come in and build. Vocals are next. They are strong and on the deeper side. Keys come and go. Amazing Lifeson-like guitar solo after 2 1/2 minutes. Great uptempo opener. "The Betrayal Of Reason" sounds like an eighties tune because of the vocal style and synths. This is my least favourite track, although it ends really well thanks to the guitar work of Rabb Beggs. "Close Your Eyes" is very much MARILLION influenced. After an uptempo intro with prominant drums and synths, the song settles right down with vocals, synths, and acoustic guitar. When it calms down it sounds so good. The album title is a line in the chorus. Some grinding guitar after 3 minutes turns into a killer solo. The tempo picks up before 4 minutes. Some theatrical vocals later. The best song so far.

"Evengate" is a short ballad of piano and fragile vocals. Quite touching actually. "Toybox" is almost 9 minutes long and is my favourite song on here. After a short atmospheric intro, pounding drums and a full sound arrive a minute in. Some strong vocals in this uptempo, catchy track. It calms down like in the intro 4 minutes in with FISH-like vocals. The song is building before 5 minutes. It calms back down a minute later. Check out the blazing guitar solo to follow. I always find it kind of cool when a band names a song after themselves. "Winter" is the only instrumental track on the album, and it's one of the better songs on here. After a tasteful intro we get a full sound including soaring guitar before a minute. Some more lightspeed playing by Beggs on guitar that simply goes on and on as drums pound away. Just an incredible display of guitar work.

If your a Neo-Prog fan try to track this one down. A solid 3 stars. I'm surprised this is their only recording, these guys were really good.

Technocrazy

Winter is an obscure Neo-Prog band from Northern Ireland that was formed in 1987 and disbanded already in 1991 after only one official release. Across The Circle's Edge - which according to the band's official website is an EP, but according to Prog Archives is a full length studio album - was released on vinyl in 1990 and then two years later on CD. Additional keyboard parts have since been added to the recordings, but as I have never heard the original releases, I cannot say with certainty if this was an improvement or not, but I strongly suspect it was. All six tracks can now be streamed for free on the band's website and the same website states that the album will be available for download on iTunes shortly. It remains unclear if there are any plans for the band to get back together, but it is fair to say that if it wasn't for the Internet people like me would never have heard of the band. It is all thanks to "technocracy", maybe?

The just over 30 minutes of good music featured on Across The Circle's Edge is very much rooted in the sound of the (early) 80's British Neo-Prog scene. While the very good vocals are certainly more than a bit Fish-like (but also reminding me of Ric Ocasek of the American New Wave band The Cars, for some reason!), the overall sound reminds me more of Pallas (especially The Sentinel) than of Marillion. The music is dark, theatrical, "futuristic" (from the perspective of the 1980's, at least) and occasionally almost metallic, but at the same time strongly melodic and even slightly poppy at times. The song Toybox reminds strongly of the Australian Neo-Prog band Aragon's excellent Rocking Horse piece (the song even contains the words 'rocking horse').

The production is not perfect (neither was Pallas' The Sentinel), but the songs are all good and engaging and the instruments and vocals sound very good. Across The Circle's Edge is a promising and enjoying recording and it would indeed have been interesting to hear more from this unknown band. One idea would perhaps be to re-record these old songs and add another handful of new songs to create a proper full length album according to today's requirements of running length and production? In an age where lots of old bands unexpectedly resurface, nothing can be deemed an impossibility anymore I guess.

Certainly a worthy listen for any Neo-Prog fan

This was an Irish group from Newtownards, found in 1987 by Johnny Lennie on vocals (also responsible for Winter's lyrics), Andy Ryan on guitar, Richard Loyer on bass, Tim Wilson on drums with Phil Murray helping out on keyboard parts.They recorded a self-titled demo cassette in 1988, before heading for the ''Across the circle's edge'' vinyl EP.This was recorded at Level One Studios in their hometown, originally released in 1990 and re-released two years later on CD by the Dutch label SI.

At a time when IQ had turned to Prog-Pop and Marillion somewhat struggled to find a particular style for their new singer Steve Hogarth, Winter played old-fashioned, underground and rough Neo Prog in the vein of COMEDY OF ERRORS, TWELFTH NIGHT and TRILOGY.Despite the obvious influences from the best British acts of the 80's, there is definitely some RUSH vibes in their music, which is a bit more raw than the more symphonic-oriented first steps of IQ.Well-composed, dynamic and energetic, this EP should be a favorite of anyone after the style.Attacking, edgy guitrar leads and solos, flashy keyboard lines and a gifted singer, who becomes theatrical when needed.There are also some beautiful, lyrical moments in the album in the vein of early MARILLION, passing through atmospheric textures with melody and deep emotions becoming the group's priorities.But its bulk is characterized by impressive guitar work, supported by well-played, angular synthesizers and a dash of orchestral colors in the process.The balance between instrumental and vocal parts is kept at a good level and the compositions are led by the passion of the music and the singer.

One track of the album, ''Close your eyes'', was included in the SI ''Progressive & Melodic Rock Vol. 1'' compilation from 1993, while Winter released also a 2-track demo around the same time, before fading in shadows.

Released in 1990 but sounding more like an early-80's album, ''Across the circle's edge'' presents the emphatic, rough side of Neo Prog, respecting the principles set up by RUSH and GENESIS in the 70's.Warmly recommended.