PRECIOUS SECONDS

I read the blurb about this group quite a while back, and it said, (I kid you not!) that this band have similarities to Pendragon and Pink Floyd, but also have their own distinguishable sound. So, without hearing anything by them, I took the chance and bought the cd. Well...what a disappointment! Really, this reminds me of a pub/club band, playing weak and unoriginal rock music, which has been elongated to make it sound more like prog. (Which it isn't). A brief overview of the tracks should suffice here. Track one, "Livin' A Lie" starts off with a substandard and very dodgy sound that is reminiscent of a poor man's Pendragon, reminding one a little of "Walls Of Babylon, the superb opener on "The Window Of Life" Unfortunately, this band are nowhere near Pendragon's league. The guitar intro is laboured and plagiaristic to say the least. However, as the keyboards, bass and drums kick in, it does improve a little, as the guitar recedes into the background and makes a nice pleasant sound. Then comes another solo, this one a little better and more biting. At this point, when I first heard this track, I dared to think that things might be improving, and relaxed a little. Unfortunately, it is at this point that the vocals first appear...oh dear, oh dear! I don't wish to insult anyone, and I will apologise at this point to the band, and their families and fans, should any of them read this, but it is, after all, only my opinion. The vocals remind one of any number of second rate bands who tour religiously round the clubs, or support slightly bigger acts at small venues. This voice, whilst not absolutely bad, just does not suit this music. It reminded me of any number of average, non-distinctive bands that appeared in the late 70's - early 80's. The lyrics are very average too, being typical, non demanding entities in a straight rock mode. Just because this, (and the other tracks) are all long things, it doesn't make them prog! Anyway, track two, "Run Before You Walk" has some nice piano in it, but nothing spectacular, the melody is bland and the vocals are weaker than on the first song. The keyboard plod along at the end too, as if programmed by a computer. Now we come to track three, "From Afar". Does anyone remember Opportunity Knocks, a T.V. talent show from the seventies? Well, it seldom had 'groups' on it, but, when they did appear, they sounded like this! Oh, and the weak voice is out of tune on the chorus too. Olivia Newton-John would like this! And it goes on too long as well! Sorry, but this is the worst track on the album. "More Than I Deserve", track four, again has nice, but predictable piano. The melody is obvious, the guitar no more than ordinary, and there is too much symbol work here. Sometimes the playing gets a little faster, as if they are trying to add some punch and attitude. But it just sounds like the speed dial has come loose! Finally (yesssssss!) we have track five, "The Last Great Climb", the longest piece on offer here, at over twenty minutes! I groaned as this started, wondering if I could survive another twenty minutes. But surprise! This is a little better. The intro is nice, and the build up is good. The vocals are more palatable here and the whole piece seems to hang together better. Nevertheless, the lyrics are abysmal and uninspiring, and, again, there is nothing here we haven't heard, in a better form, somewhere before. The chorus is too sweet and poppy. Middle of the road, but still the best track on the album, followed by the first opener. As I said before, I apologise to anyone who likes this band, but this sounds as rough as a demo. If it was, I could understand it, but it isn't. More worryingly, neither is it their debut disc. If this is an improvement on that, well...I don't wish to hear it! Doubtless there will be many who listen to this and think it is well delivered modern prog, but, believe me, it isn't. There is no danger here, no surprise, nothing to make the listener go 'wow!'. The keyboards are decent, and the bass, throughout the album, is quite good. But there is nothing more to be gained from this. I have played it four times, just to make sure it wasn't me who was missing something. But I am not. For fans only.