SIX PIECES

Six Pieces is an album that's too dynamic. The quiet parts are barely audible, and the loud moments are cacophonic. The heavy passages contain little or no melody- just noisy, varying runs, sputtering notes, or seeming haphazardness. It's a chore to sit through. The delicate symphonic parts are definitely the best thing this album has to offer, but quite frankly, it feels like I'm listening to a Disney soundtrack in several places. The last two tracks, "Hall of Mirrors" and "The Dreamer" are the best offerings on the album, but beware: They are much closer to classical music than progressive rock.

"Punch and Judy Man" Frivolous light notes create a feathery texture of an introduction, but soon powerful keyboards and bass launch into an ELP-like flamboyance. Following this, and with nary a transition (they could be moving onto a new track, really), there is a sweetly delicate mix of orchestral keyboards. The third section of the piece relies on rapid bass notes on the piano with various interrupting notes leading into a nasty, messy passage of music.

"Once She Was" This is very pleasant pseudo-orchestral music- one could almost be fooled into thinking he was hearing a classical work. Midway through, again with no transition, various synthesizers and percussion create a grand symphonic display for about a minute, and then it's back to the synthetic orchestra.

"The Ring Master" The title is appropriate, given that this sounds like exaggerated circus music. In a nutshell (one not yet eaten by an elephant), this represents most of what is wrong with this album- the arrangement is so boringly busy. There is no centerpiece, precious little melody, and nothing to make me recall what I'd just heard.

"Sanctus" While this doesn't sound terribly original, it is pleasant and has a clear direction- a happy, cheerful one...at least for the first 45 seconds. It gets loud for a bit, and then settles into a dirge-like mellowness. Again, a bunch of passages thrown together does not good progressive rock make. Fortunately it does pick up into something similar to my favorite composer, Tchaikovsky. There's a guitar theme that interrupts the music a few times, and it really doesn't fit at all- I have no idea why it got wedged into the piece, and not just once.

"Hall of Mirrors" Quiet piano treads softly underneath a weepy lead in this delicate waltz. The soaring guitar over the orchestral keyboards is a stunning moment of grandeur.

"Intro / The Dreamer" The introduction to "The Dreamer" is a ghostly, almost nightmarish piece with eerie percussion and frightening noises, but the piece proper is unassumingly beautiful with a mighty climax.