MOONSHINE

"Moonshine" is the third full-length studio album by polish progressive rock act Collage. The album was released through Metal Mind Records/SI Music in 1994. It´s the successor to "Nine Songs Of John Lennon" from 1993, which was a rather odd choice for a sophomore studio album (an album featuring only covers of songs by John Lennon), but on "Moonshine", Collage have again opted to release an album of originals, like they did on their Polish language debut album "Baśnie" (1990). "Moonshine" is an English language album though, and it´s a necessary change to reach a wider audience.

stylistically this is 80s influenced neo-progressive rock with dominant keyboards, melancholic clean male vocals, a busy and well playing rhythm section, and lead guitarist Mirek Gil constantly delivering soaring melancholic leads. The soundscape is pretty massive and epic, and at times it´s alsmost too overwhelming for the senses, but Collage do occasionally take the songs down more subtle and mellow paths. So "Moonshine" is not an album without dynamics, but generally you should brace yourself and be prepared for your senses to be loaded with sound. Collage aren´t stingy with quantity either and "Moonshine" features no less than three out of eight tracks which are longer than 10 minutes and the full album is just shy of 70 minutes long.

Stylistically "Baśnie" was a heavily Marillion influenced release, but with "Moonshine", Collage have managed to release something which may be influenced by 80s progressive rock artists like Marillion, IQ, and Pendragon, but doesn´t really sound like those artists. They have found a sound which makes them stand out from the crowd. Lead vocalist Robert Amirian has a pleasant voice albeit not the most remarkable or distinct sounding one. His voice and singing style suit the instrumental part of the music well though.

As a consequence of the massive and layered sound production the songs on "Moonshine" have a tendency to sound a little too much alike, but Collage is not a one-trick pony and "Moonshine" is just the type of album that you have to give more than one spin to become familiar with. Tracks like "Heroes Cry" and "Living in the Moonlight" are some of the most easily accessible songs on "Moonshine", because they both feature strong and hook laden chorus parts, but especially longer tracks like "In Your Eyes" and "Wings in the Night" require a bit more patience and attention. It´s not that this is particularly difficult or unconventionally structured music, but there´s still a lot to take in, which sometimes makes the album a harder listen than what was probably intended.

Upon conclusion "Moonshine" is deservedly often mentioned as a neo-progressive "classic". It´s not that Collage do much here which haven´t been done before, but the way they do it is different enough to make them stand out. On top of that "Moonshine" is a well composed, well performed, and well produced release, and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is therefore deserved.

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