MOVIN' ON

Now this is an album. This album came to me only because of my good friend Hugues, who orignally discovered this album here and tried to spread the word on it, much like he did with Jan Dukes De Grey.

So when I orignally got hold of it, I listened to it, and it was good and all, but it really didn't catch me. I put it "back on the shelf", maybe for some other time.

The last couple weeks saw me spinning this album a lot, probably twice every day easily. I fell in love with the album. The power and style of this album is unlike any other in prog.

One thing (probably my favorite thing) about the album that needs to be mentioned is the vocals. OH MAN. Roland Frei, on these songs alone, has become one of my favorite singers. His voice is unbelievable, and his backing singers of Cerletti and Grieder are fantastic as well, providing for one of the best vocal sections in all of prog. Seriously.

The band is instrumentally weird. No keyboardist. No electric guitarist. You have your bass, vocals/acoustic guitar/tenor saxophone, flute/alto sax, and drums. May seem weird. Ok, dwell on it for a second. Done? Good, because now you can forget it and listen to the album.

The Bandsman has become one of my favorite prog tracks. You put it on unexpectedly, and you are swept off the ground in a whirlwind of music. The different styles covered in this song alone are fantastic. It also makes you wonder if they really only used those instruments listed above. The themes are amazingly done, providing for a great song.

Laughter Lane and Loveless Time I'll address together, because, for me at least, they are the middle songs in the album. They have these unbelievable ethereal passages. They have mellower sections than the opener of the album, providing for a great contrast and great sections of music. It also has its medieval, magical moments, just futher contributing to the diversity and overall quality of the album.

Dawn is instrumental, and far more experimental than the other songs on the album. It sounds like King Crimson in terms of the instruments and experimentation. Highly, highly enjoyable. I love the fact that they, again, change the type of song that they perform on this album. I find albums boring after a while if it is the same throughout. This is the opposite of that.

The 22 minute song Movin' On is also, to my own ears at least, a lot freer in feel than the rest of the album. It seems to be slightly more jam oriented than structure oriented. The vocal work, is however, is great, and harkens back to the way Yes vocalized earlier that decade. The instrumental work is amazing, and makes for a certainly fine song of epic proportions. Fine round-out to this fine, fine album.

All in all, symphonic prog fans, basically, need to own this. Despite the fact that this is not a 5 star album, it is basically essential for symphonic lovers. However, others should look into it to, if mine and the other reviews here have peaked your interest. It is a fascinating album, full of treasures and other findings. Very highly recommended. 4/5 stars.

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