FANFARE & FANTASY

Having been suitably impressed with the previous Comedy of Errors album 'Disobey' I pre- ordered 'Fanfare & Fantasy' shortly before its release. I received it a few days ago and have been listening to it fairly consistently over the last few days, both at home while working and in the car.

Upon the first few listens it became very apparent that this was a much richer and complex album than 'Disobey' with a much greater sense of continuity and balance. Joe Cairney's vocals are suave and smooth. For some reason his voice takes me back to the 1980's. I have no idea why! The playing in this album, the musicianship is absolutely outstanding. The keyboards and guitars drive every track forward and Cairneys vocals provide an intriguing contrast to the power of the instruments. The drums in this album have a more prominent position in the arrangements and they are combined and mastered brilliantly in the overall sound.

'Fanfare & Fantasy' is one of those albums that gets better with every listen. There are so many facets to this album that you hear something new on every listen. It is truly superb. Every track on this album offers something different. There is great versatility in all the tracks with a plethora of influences and yet they all flow together to make one singular, magnificent whole. On first listen the most immediate and breath-taking track is 'Going For A Song'. The keyboards and guitars in this track are immense and melodic and they create one of the most powerful songs that I have heard in a long time. There could be comparisons made with Pendragon and they would be justified. But, honestly, this is better. The vocals are outstanding and the musicianship is more than equal to any of the better-known prog groups out there. Comedy Of Errors seriously deserve much greater recognition for what they have produced here. I think I'll be listening to it for a long time to come yet. It is a truly superb composition and I cannot give it less than anything less than five stars. This is an ESSENTIAL part of any self-respecting progressive music enthusiast and this group deserves a lot more recognition for their abilities. Prog on, this is great!