ASHES ARE BURNING

For some reason, I remember liking this back in the day, but time has a way of putting these things in perspective.

This thing sucks.

It starts out well enough: Can You Understand is a rousing, Yes-derived piece of near perfection. And then it all goes downhill from there. Annie Haslam's voice is pleasant enough when she's not showing off her range; when she shows off her range, it is cringe-inducing and possibly responsible for Minnie Ripperton, for which I automatically dock the album a star

The lyrics are for the most part puerile and mindless cliches. Other than the bass player, there is apparently no competent soloist in the band.

I'd immediately pull this out of my collection were it not for those first few minutes of Can You Undestand, which are highly exhiliarating if listened to every decade or so.