ELSO EVTIZED

A criminally underappreciated/discussed band, After Crying is arguably in the top three symphonic/folk bands of the 90's and beyond. Incredible musicianship playing orchestrial progrock/Hungarian folk with classical instruments, (cello, flute, oboe, trombone, viola, trumpet, bassoon) within a normal rock band. Imagine classical Hungarian folk prog with a dash of American composer George Gershwin's jazz/honky tonk, add a smidgen of King Crimson's early moodiness and you'll get an idea how totally original this band is. This particular 2-disc album is a compilation of their first 4 albums on disc one and a live concert on disc two. Other than one track that has a Kraftwerk-like sound that sticks out like a sore thumb on the first disc, what you'll get is a phenomenal selection of their early work. I can't tell you how much this music can be beautiful, peaceful and uplifting yet has a sense of forboding and denseness. They sing mostly in Hungarian, but will sing in English very nicely at times. Standout tracks are, "Tepd el a Kepeket!" with a wonderful acoustic guitar and flute, just plain beautiful! "Kozjatek II" which has a flute run that sounds like it was lost from Morricone's spaghetti westerns. "Sotetben" with more beautiful flute playing and great vocals, plus you can't mistake the early King Crimson influence on this track. Brilliant! I could go on and on, (there's 15 tracks!), suffice it to say, the musicians are all incredible, the singing impeccable and above all, you get a second disc with live music playing different songs live. It's incredible that they can play such intricate music live and pull it off so well. Added bonus, a rousing live rendition of King Crimson's "21st Century Schidzoid Man". Folks, these guys/gals are in the top echelon of prog in the 90's/00's. If you're tired of unoriginal Yes/Genesis/Marillion clones and want to try something new but not hard to get into, give After Crying a shot, you'll not be disappointed. 4.5 stars!!!!