TALL TALES

The album starts out fine with "Over The Fall" having a very Genesis sound courtesy of Tim Horan's Bank-like choir mellotron, more musical then lyrical it's the best track on the album. What comes after, "The Poet Liar" and "Find The Line" have a quasi mellow Rush-like sound with Bill Esposito's voice sounding like a cross between Peter Hamill and Geddy Lee. Both songs are decent. "Lords and Leeches" has a Kansas sound with Banks style keyboard flourishes, again lyrics dominate. "The Salamander" is a credible instrumental. "Land for Sale" has a Rush-like sound similar to tracks 2 and 3. Mellow, and somewhat memorable. "An Imp's Tale" is their "Supper's Ready" a 21-minute song broken up into several parts. Everything on the track is played expertly, with nice flute work. But what boils down for this track and the whole album for the most part is music that doesn't stick in your head, even after just playing it. As a group the musicians can all play their instruments with professionalism, can mimic their heroes with aplumb and the singer with a voice that has a limited range, is quite adequate. But taken as a whole, it's not a fine wine but a diet Coke. If you're into a different type of neo, this might be a good album, maybe a four stars, but if you're looking for something different from the rest of the neo-pack or just hate neo, it's two stars. I'll place it into the middle a give it a solid three.