PASS THE CLOCK

As many of we know, the Mostly Autumn's sound is very atmospheric with a combination of keyboards, guitars, bass, various forms of percussion, flutes and dreamy vocals provided by female vocals and Bryan Josh vocals. Their overall sound has always reminded me of Pink Floyd with a touch of folk. But they're much more than that. Much of what they do is very original and memorable. I discovered Mostly Autumn in 2003 through the DVD "Progressive Rock Anthology" by the Classic Rock Society with their track "Mother Nature" and I immediately was captivated with what they had to offer. Since then I have reviewed a lot of their work including lavishly presented DVD sets and high end CD's for optimal sound. And I can assure to all of you that we can always count on a great quality presentation from this great band.

"Pass The Clock" is a very special compilation album of Mostly Autumn. Somehow, it represents the end of an era of the band. It represents the end of the era of Mostly Autumn with their first singer and founding member Heather Findlay who had left the band to pursue a solo career. "Pass The Clock" is a compilation album that covers the entire career of Mostly Autumn since the beginning of it to that moment. That can be seen in the front cover of the album, between 1998 and 2008. So, "Pass The Clock" is a compilation album very well representative of the career of Mostly Autumn with tracks chosen from all their eight studio albums released to that moment, "For All We Shared", "The Spirit Of Autumn Past", "The Last Bright Light", "Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings", "Passengers", "Storms Over Still Water", "Heart Full Of Sky" and "Glass Shadows", plus a track originally released on their EP "Spirits Of Christmas Past".

"Pass The Clock" is a compilation album with thirty-five tracks. So, from their debut studio album "For All We Shared" that was released in 1999 we have four tracks, "Boundless Ocean", "Steal Away", "Night Sky" and "Heroes Never Die". From their second studio album "The Spirit Of Autumn Past" that was also released in 1999 we have also four tracks, "Evergreen", "Shindig", "Blakey Ridge/When Waters Meet" and "The Gap Is Too Wide". From their third studio album "The Last Bright Light" that was released in 2001 we have six tracks, "Prints In The Stone", "The Eyes Of The Forest", "Which Wood?", "Shrinking Violet", "Half The Mountain" and "Hollow". From their fourth studio album "Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings" that was also released in 2001 we have three tracks, "At Last To Rivendell", "On The Wings Of Gwaihir" and "Goodbye Alone". From their fifth studio album "Passengers" that was released in 2003 we have seven tracks, "Pure White Light", "Distant Train", "Answer The Question", "Pass The Clock", "Simple Ways", "Bitterness Burnt" and "Passengers". From their sixth studio album "Storms Over Still Water" that was released in 2005 we have three tracks, "Ghost In Dreamland", "Storms Over Still Water" and "Carpe Diem". From their seventh studio album "Heart Full Of Sky" that was released in 2006 we have three tracks, "Fading Colours", "Silver Glass" and "Yellow Time". However, "Yellow Time" is a track that only appears in the special edition of the album with two CD's. From their eighth studio album "Glass Shadows" that was released in 2008 we have four tracks, "The Second Hand", "Paper Angels", "Tearing At The Faerytale" and "Glass Shadows". "Pass The Clock" has also another track that was never released on any of their studio albums, "Winter Is King". It was originally released on their EP "Spirits Of Christmas Past" in 2005.

Mostly Autumn's approach to this anthology was to produce three CD's which are self-standing in terms of music synergy. So, "Something For The Spirit" has the most up-tempo compositions, "Something For The Campfire" contains the folk and folk-rock numbers and "Something For The Candlelight" has the slow tempo and peaceful sound of the band. And this was a good strategy. Each of the individual CD's has a pleasing self-consistency. It's true that "Pass The Clock" doesn't contains any new songs as is usual on many other compilation albums. But this compilation album has an interesting thing. All these tracks were remastered versions, and in my opinion, aren't bad at all. Of course the song selections for anthologies always cause debate. But it's fair to say that many of their great classics were included here.

Conclusion: I've no doubt in say that "Pass The Clock" is an excellent compilation album made in a very professional way. It seems like it could be an extreme compilation with 3 CD's with 35 tracks and with more than 2 and a half hours. However, that is far from the case. If you are a solid great band like Mostly Autumn is, it's not difficult to select tracks over ten years period. The difficulty lies in choosing which tracks to include in such a comprehensive set. But, the final results are excellent where some of their best and most beloved tracks by their fans were included. "Pass The Clock" has an outstanding collection of tracks where the individual tracks fit perfectly well in the titles of the three CD's. Besides, the packing is top notch featuring a high quality cardboard three piece gatefold CD holder with liner notes and the necessary thanks to the important supporters of the band. This is a great compilation of an underrated prog band.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Share this MOSTLY AUTUMN review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to VianaProghead
• Report this review (#3062132)
• Buy MOSTLY AUTUMN music online with PA partners
• Show all MOSTLY AUTUMN MP3/Stream
• Go to MOSTLY AUTUMN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Pass the Clock page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MOSTLY AUTUMN related discussions