CIVILIAN

It's hard to say what to give this album. It is really not progressive, at least not what we are used to (but i still say its more 80s pop/rock). For that fact it is hard to give it three stars. Prog-wise it should be two stars or even one. But, then you have everything eles about the album. With that said, i'll start the review.

First of all, I love the cover. It is one of thier best, and one of the best in all of music. It is really clever. Now the music if deffinately different from what we are used to (as i said before). Now even though it is not prog, it is still good music. Some of the songs are really good, and others are not (just like a good pop album should be ;-)). Anyway, Conveinence is a great song. Nice beat and good sound (minus the drums. I have never liked the 80s drums). All Though The Night is another great song. Unfortunatly, after that, the album gets slow and very poppy for the time. It picks up again with Underground (great effect in the beinging with the subway), and I Am A Carama (again nice effect). I also like the ending of the album. Very clever and very fitting, as it is the last "true" work by Gentle Giant.

Even though this album is as it is, it is still Gentle Giant and still worth getting (esp. if it is cheap). I'll say the true rating lies around 2.5, but with the stipulation that this really isn't a prog album, but it would probably appeal to more than just fans, but just slightly.