EVER

"Ever" is the fifth studio album of IQ and that was released in 1993. It features the return of their former vocalist Peter Nicholls to the line up of the group. After the release of the two first studio albums "Tales From The Lush Attic" in 1983 and "The Wake" in 1985, Peter Nicholls left the band. He was substituted by Paul Menel that participated on the two next studio albums of the band "Nomzamo" in 1987 and "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" in 1989. "Ever" was also their first album with the participation of John Jowitt as their new bass player, who substituted their former bassist Tim Essau. So, it was interesting to see how the musical direction of the band was after the last two disappointing albums.

So, the line up on the album is Peter Nicholls (lead and backing vocals), Mike Holmes (guitars), Martin Orford (backing vocals, flute and keyboards), John Jowitt (backing vocals and bass guitar) and Paul Cook (drums and percussion).

"Ever" has six tracks. All songs were written by IQ and all lyrics were written by Peter Nicholls. The first track "The Darkest Hour" is a song that starts with nice guitar and keyboard works. It's a song settled into a steady paced rhythm and with a very pleasant and catchy melody. The melody is peaceful, alternating with mysterious and calm passages. All over the song there are some nice musical textures that change throughout the song. It's a very dark and moody song with catchy lyrics. This is, without any doubt, a great song with all the ingredients that all IQ fans love, including some reminiscences of Genesis. This is a great track to open the album. The second track "Fading Senses" is divided into two parts, "After All" and "Fading Senses". This is a very simple and beautiful song where the voice of Peter sounds a little bit sad as if he was alone. In my humble opinion, this is also a song with a slight touch of irony. This is basically a song divided into two different moments. In the beginning, it's a mellow song dominated by keyboards and vocals but after, about three minutes, it change its mood with heavy guitars and pounding drums taking count of it with the sound of the synthesizers coming and going. The third track "Out Of Nowhere" brings the music back into another upbeat tempo and high energy combining the work of keyboards, bass and drums nicely. It's a very strong and heavier song, a more rock oriented number, with nice guitar riffs played under Nicholls vocals. This is a song, without any doubt, with a more straight forward commercial sound. However, and despite is my less favourite track on the album, I still like this song with its melodic upbeat style and the unmistakable voice of Peter. Besides, I think that it works very well on the album. The fourth track "Further Away" represents the second great epic on the album with "The Darkest Hour". This is a real masterpiece of the band. It's a very powerful track in terms of musical composition with multi-part musical structures and many tempo changes. The first three minutes are very melodic with some very harmonious sounds, but at the end of it the music changes to a heavier mode with a powerful soft guitar work and a very dynamic bass line. The track progresses with a more complex musical structure and an incredible sonic quality. The track ends with another mellow part and with a great keyboard work. The fifth track "Leap Of Faith" is a very beautiful track with musical passages of tranquillity leading by a magnificent synthesizer and guitar works. This is a very melodic track that reminds me strongly Genesis in the era of Steve Hackett, especially "Afterglow" of "Wind And Wuthering". It's a track with all the ingredients of truly a classic progressive track and it explains way IQ is considered, probably, the band of all neo-prog bands that carries better the spirit of the symphonic classic era, especially the spirit of Genesis' music. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The sixth and last track "Came Down" is a very calm and peaceful track that closes the album magnificently. We even can say that "Leap Of Faith" and "Came Down" are somehow melded together to make up another long and great track. Some of the best Peter's vocals are on these two tracks. These are, in reality, two great songs. We also can say that on these two tracks there is a grandeur that hasn't been so sincerely heard before and felt since Hackett left Genesis. It's, without any doubt, the perfect way to close this magnificent album.

Conclusion: Finally, I started reviewing albums of IQ. For unknown reasons, that surprised even me. Only now after hundreds reviews that I wrote to Progarchives, I began to review one of my favourite bands. Anyway, as we usually say, it's better late than never. By the other hand, I decided to begin with "Ever" because I think "Ever" is a landmark in IQ discography. It became as a turning point into their music. It's one of their best musical works and it begins also the base of their best line up, for me. If you love symphonic progressive rock music with a catchy melody and a moderate complexity in musical composition, IQ, and particularly "Ever", is a good starting point. By the other hand, if you love, like me, the classic era of the progressive rock, especially Genesis and Yes, I'm sure that you will not be disappointed with "Ever", even for a minute. So, "Ever" is a must have for everyone who loves symphonic and prog rock in general.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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