AT THE DAWN OF A NEW MILLENNIUM

Mystery are one of the top progressive bands to come out of Canada, and with the departure of their vocalist Gary Savoie they have decided to release a retrospective. That is not to say that the band is calling it a day, as they have a new vocalist in Benoit David and will be releasing a new album before the end of the year. This is seen as a closing of the first chapter and this album includes tracks not only from 'Theatre Of The Mind' and 'Destiny?' (both of which I have reviewed in the past), but also from their debut mini-CD 'Mystery' which I had not heard before.

Mystery is very much the baby of guitarist/songwriter/producer Michel St-Père, and the fact that these songs are played by three different line-ups with only Michel and Gary featuring on all tracks, yet sounding as if they are from the same session is a tribute to him. Sometimes a bit Floydian, sometimes a bit Kansas, this is a very polished progressive sound which will be of interest to all those into structured music whether they like this particular genre or not.

Feedback #58, May 2000