THE INCONSOLABLE SECRET

I will keep this short. I won't pretend I know this band well, coz I don't...but I have heard their last 3 albums. I loved Lex Rex, but was a bit disappointed that Shadowlands didn't grab me in the same way (good though it is). But now we have "The Inconsolable Secret" which is made up of 2 CD's. For me, the best parts of the 2nd CD are the 2 10 minute plus tracks, "Long And Long Ago" at the start and "Having Caught A Glimpse" at the end, that highlight this disk, and the rest (although pleasant) have a touch of filler to them. I rate this as 3 out of 5.

But CD1, which has only 2 tracks "A Maker Of Clowns" at 15 minutes plus and "The Knight Of The North" at 24 mins are a delight. "A Maker Of Clowns" is a beautiful piece of Progressive music. The way the melody just stays with you and you almost float away. The very reason I continue to listen to this fascinating genre over the years is to hear classics such as this. Keyboarding is masterful and general musicianship is excellent throughout. Hang On!! Only 15 minutes in and we're in heaven!! How can they follow this? Well, "The Knight Of The North" is a diffferent feel in many ways. It starts with a almost medieval classical melody which brightens to an opening vocal + piano that's reminiscent of Gentle Giant (who are a big influence in other parts of the track). Then and ELP keyboard section through to a YES pastoral section and then a great vocal melody (vocals aren't great but not bad either). Now, how far are we in? 7 minutes 50 seconds, and it's been a gas. After 11minutes we get a GG or even Spock's Beard vocal harmony, then a flute and guitar melody. I will not go on from here as it would take me all night to type it, but needless to say that the remainder of this track sparkles with greatness, although I deduct a star for the overlong repetitive ending (a small gripe). I know I've mentioned the influences above, but that does not mean to say that this is completely derivitive as that would be wrong. The iffluences are there, but they still retain their own style.

This 1st Disk is an epic and completely essential, so what a bonus that you get the second CD too. Track 1 5 stars, Track 2 4 stars, CD1 5 out of 5 WOW!!