BOOK OF THE DEAD

This CD, sadly, revisits why prog music faded from the limelight in the 1980's. It is a bit pompous, self-indulgent, and very pretentious. It's CD's like this one that gave proggressive rock a bad name from day one. Don't get me wrong here. I am a huge fan of Yes, ELP, Gong, Gentle Giant, and all the legendary bands from the 70's, but there came a point where prog all-too-often became a "showcase of musical talents". Excessive "noodling" and less attention to melody, even tempo.

Everything here is listenable at the very least. Nothing stands out as stellar, or even truly insprired/inspiring. Alan Holdsworth is a noteworthy presence here, but his decades-long forays into jazz and solo recording have made him almost a sore thumb here.

This said, I am happy to stay with the likes of Marillion. Perhaps it's just my age, but I long for a well-honed melody and am less impressed with how much insipid noodling a musician can accomplish. I'll gladly turn to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Brand X for that.