MUSIC FROM MACBETH

This is one of those albums I take out every 12 months or so to listen to and try to understand what it's all about. Sadly despite repeated attempts I still don't get it. What makes it so frustrating is that the 2 previous records have a lot of interesting ideas and some strong world music and folk prog elements. Glenn Sweeney is cleraly a man who knows his stuff and even with this record I can see his skill as both a musician and music composer.

This music probably works well with the film but I've never seen it. On it's own the eerie and gothic atmosphere more often jars and sounds laboured than providing atmosphere or mood. It also sounds rushed and hurried at times and on several numbers you feel it's about to burst into a well developed theme or musical interlude but instead it finishes and the next piece begins.

Simon House's violin occasional lifts the mood of gloom but he's used too sparingly for me. Sweeney as I've said is clearly talented but his percussion on this is more of the kitchen sink school that the structured and colouring type.

Maybe it's just me but the album promises much but fails to delivery. Sad as the Third Ear Band's other albums are all worthy of investigating