OCTOBERON

BJH or how a second rate group was able to bring prog to a more commercial place, a vital paradox in this decade?!

1 The World Goes On acoustic guitar and off we go with the suave voice, the BJH sound is already in battle order, the violins arrive, we are of course melodic prog, with no other pretension than to settle down and listen without a joint, yes it was famous with them before, so to have a good time, borderline symphonic with the guitar which screams a little; it's good, it was good now how would I say it lacks watts 2 May Day and this characteristic sound, and this melody written from the start; 2'45 of variation without wave and... this break which will be repeated on 'Eye of the universe', a progressive break, the thing which cuts you off from the song and takes you away for a few moments, far from the lyrics, far from the verses; yes prog was also that; 4'30 and a Gregorian choir suddenly, ah they tell me a Christian choir quite simply... in short, prog is what I was saying, a cut and a tune that sends you far, far beyond visible space, an air that makes you shiver; majestic, grandiloquent before knowing what dela meant, well in digital it's better than in LP... so worn that the crackling became unbearable at that moment; go one last drum roll, two cymbals and we move on to 3 Ra arrives... one if not the most beautiful symphonic prog intro that a group could have released! not the crossover, the symphonic prog that I'm writing to you... listen to this almost silence in a row, these layers of keyboards, listen to John and Lees singing, I never knew which ones... listen it feels like a rocked boat by a few refreshing waves, just before the maelmstrom chorus, just before the majestic organ; a latent musical sound, a purely prog sound which defines one of the prog bases in the world of music... a composition 'which takes you from one musical port to another' without getting your feet wet, that's it is clear! well the break with the piano in the metronomic distance.. just before it starts again, a year later SUPERTRAMP will do the same thing with one of the most proggy titles there is...John rewards us with a solo that's not too sharp towards; it rises, it swells, it explodes for a solemn ending, worthy of a happy ending of a film. 4 Rock 'N' Roll Star with Lees and his suave voice, with an easy title, prog pop rock without too many waves so as not to frighten those who were trying prog, an instrumental composition worthy of a YES with the formwork of Stuart's keyboards, don't forget John's solos which send you straight into the stratosphere and their much heavier renditions in concert! 5 Polk Street Rag when I talk about its heavy... have you seen this starting riff? nothing to throw away, everything is there... well after that it's very melodious we agree but still! the orchestration takes me back to a more recent album renowned in my ears for having included a number of intros from their repertoire and other groups; well the guitar mixes with the synth for a consensual finale that drags on, what I like least about them! 6 Believe In Me for the marshmallow title, why I give it a 4 and not a 5! Well it's much better than a number of overrated current compositions, ah the columnists are no longer what they were, but oh well, make do with it; beautiful walk that is forgotten quite quickly 7 Suicide? just for the acoustic guitar, and the Genesisian organ, that of BANKS of course; for the languorous voice, for the choirs which recall 10CC's 'I'm not in love' released a year earlier; in short the title which doesn't look like much and which has its warm side, long and slow majestic, pompous rise, yes it was a bit of their Achilles heel, an anthem, a suicidal anthem? Well it's over; we hear the sounds of footsteps on the road, the taxi coming to pick us up, ah no it's in the title, I was fooled; a snub to the sound effects of PINK FLOYD for example, SHADOW GALLERY will go even further with... later; OK, the elevator arrives... a woman in heels, a horse in his shoes, a person dragging his feet because he 'doesn't want to'? we're right up there, it's time!!!!