CORVUS STONE

Let's start with what somebody consider to be a defect of this album: it's various. It has a song format, no concept and the sequence of the various tracks seems quite randomic. I don't think it's a thing bad enough to make my rating decrease.

The first thing that I've noticed is the sound of the second and the third track. With the headphones on and with a volume high enough they acquire a "live" sound. Listening to them makes me think to what we were used to call happenings at the end of the 60s, and effectively I hear a link to the Californian psychedelia.

But with the 4th track, "Ice King", everything suddenly changes. There's still some psychedelia but the atmosphere is totally different. The middle-eastern mood reminds to the early Floyd (and to Rick Wright) as well as to the Camel of Mirage.

Back on stage with the excellent "I'll Leave It Behind". A track that I think would work very well live, based mainly on keyboards with excellent efforts of guitar, bass and drums. It's an instrumental which I find very close to Niacin, and this is an indicator of how skilled the band members are.

The title track has a Gilmourish start, but the keyboards sound like Wright or Vangelis are behind. This is probably the proggiest track of the album and another which I can imagine played on stage, even when in the second part it slows down and becomes quite ambient.

"Moron Season" is, if I'm not wrong, the first track with lyrics. A very nice melodic song, initially, which after one minute becomes something totally different, with the instrumental part reminding me to Niacin or to Ozric Tentacles and the singing in heavy prog style. Nice idea the few famous chord from Smoke on the Water in the final.

"Horizon" sounds very west coast for less than two minutes and is followed by a short interlude of acoustic guitar, then it comes a funky track in Santana style, just to become floydian again with the following track, but with a touch of acid blues in the intro. Then a rock canon comes in. "Pilgrims" has so many changes that can be considered a minisuite.

"JussiPussi" was maybe an attempt of avantgarde track in the composer's intention but results to be the weakest track of the album. Weak but not awful.

"Iron Pillows" begins in a similar way but it turns soon into a psych-blues. Really not bad for who likes psychedelia. "After Solstice" is not very different (impressive guitar, anyway).

Speaking of live sound, the stage is where a drum solo results more appropriate. Especially if followed by two minutes of symphonic prog of Crimsonian (Lake) memory. What follows is dark and reminds me to something I can't define. The guitar rocks but the base is undefinable. An interesting track which has maybe a little Hendrixian taste.

After "Scary Movie", "Cinema" is appropriate. The longest album's track has a country-rock flavor but can make me think to Procol Harum, too. A very good old-fashioned ballad.

To close the album another version of The Ice King is completed by a short coda: Ten Inch Lisa, which is made of 30 lovely seconds of classical and 12 strings guitar.

This sudden closure contributes in making me think that the track sequence could have been better. However this album contains a lot of good things and its being so disontinuous and various can be a plus instead of a handicap. Grab your copy and enjoy it.

Headphones on, please.