THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

This was the first SPOCK'S BEARD record that I ever heard and so it does have some of that "first love" appeal to me. Of their first three albums though I would rate this number three, but let me just say that I would pick any of those three in a heart beat to listen to at any time as they are all amazing.

"The Good Don't Last" opens with synths as Alan comes in on the cello, yes the cello. Love the bass and drums that follow. Ryo is busy on piano and then organ as he offers up some powerful runs on the latter. Acoustic guitar and a calm as reserved vocals come in. The contrasts continues. Yes I know the words of "Seasons In The Sun" Neal. Cello is back before 5 1/2 minutes followed by mellotron. Nice. Cello is back after 7 minutes and I really like the uplifting section 8 1/2 minutes in with some beautiful guitar melodies. Cello 9 1/2 minutes in. "In The Mouth Of Madness" is one of my top three tracks on this record. I'm thinking YES with the intro. Heavy bass after the vocals come in. The vocals and mellotron a minute in make me melt, and also 1 1/2 minutes in. Man these guys can play ! Check it out before 3 minutes. "Cakewalk On Easy Street" opens with a GENTLE GIANT flavour with the intricate sounds. Lots of mellotron as it calms down. Morse has such a great voice. This song has a lot of power to it and the organ is great. Cello 3 1/2 minutes. Some nice guitar feedback to end it.

"June" is a feel good summer track that makes me smile. Strummed guitar to open as reserved vocals come in. Organ after 2 minutes and drums after 3 1/2 minutes. I love the synths in the intro of "Strange World". Piano and vocals before a minute. The contrast continues. "Harm's Way" is another top three for me along with "Flow". A nice heavy intro greets us in "Harm's Way" before organ and drums arrive. The guitar sounds amazing and Ryo shows off his piano playing. It's all so impressive. Vocals and mellotron before 2 minutes. A Jazz vibe after 3 minutes. Excellent guitar after 4 1/2 minutes. Great passage 7 minutes in. Uplifting section before 10 minutes with mellotron. "Flow" opens with these instrumental outbursts and mellotron. Very GENESIS sounding before a minute. Amazing ! A calm before 1 1/2 minutes with piano. Reserved vocals before 2 minutes. Some great guitar before 3 minutes. Passionate vocals and sound after 5 minutes. A catchy uptempo section 6 1/2 minutes in. The intro section is back 10 1/2 minutes in. Guitar comes in after 12 minutes and continues to the end of the song which is almost 16 minutes long. Fantastic ending.

Another triumph for the band and an easy 4 stars.