NUMBER SEVEN

In the 1970's I became enraptured with symphonic progressive rock and have spent a good amount of time sampling this genre of music from Progressive Archives. Up until recently, I was convinced that music would never again reach a level of genius and complexity I thoroughly enjoy from such groups as Kansas or Genesis: silly me! "Doomsday Afternoon" and "7" are exquisite feasts for the ears with phenomenal orchestration: I consider them both Masterpieces.

Phideaux's only flaw, theologically speaking, would be its view on Origins. From a Biblical perspective (I make my camp with Kerry Livgren), I take the Word of God seriously as a historical document; if we truly exist by chance, then there is no hope in life. Sadly, Phideaux's worldview and concept of salvation leaves me disappointed in that Truth has been ignored/rejected. But wait! These are fantasy-concept soundtracks, right? With that in mind, I will treat the compositions just as that, fantasy-concept soundtracks and enjoy some of the best music I have listened to in decades.

In closing, I cannot believe that there are some who rated these albums with less than a '5'? shame on you! I can tell you right now that screening the release of "7½" will not be necessary; my credit card is now waiting and ready to make the purchase on Amazon.