STARCASTLE

It's quite easy for people to give this band a rough listen and dismiss it as an "American Yes Clone". Harmonically, the lead singer (formerly of REO Speedwagon) has a Jon Anderson edge, but the guitar work, and very prominent keyboard work is not really of Yes. Secondly, from a perspective, American progressive rock was a very niche genre in the states with only a handful of bands producing progressive music. If you subtract all the comparisons to Yes, you hear a creative band whose crafty guitarists, decent bass, complex drumming, and wondrous keyboards create a unique sound. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the typical sprinkling of some AOR moments (think Kansas and Styx) which really is quite a turn off for die hard prog-rockers.

My favorite track has to be Lady of The Lake with it's keyboards and guitars working together to create an upbeat prog rock epic. Technically, the quality of the recording isn't clean and crisp which is much expected from debut albums. Also of you own the 2009 CD remaster, you will mix is even louder which makes it sound a little dirtier. Overall for a debut album, this showcases some fine American prog rock.