THE WITCHING HOUR

This compilation focuses on the longer and more complex Mutiny in Jonestown tracks. Obviously I consider this a highly rated album since the songs are cherry-picked as some of the best extended pieces the band has to offer. There are longer pieces in the bands discography than on this album and three of those make up the "Anthology IV - The Lovecraft Connection" compilation. Two of the songs on this album are actually excerpts from those longer Lovecraft based pieces such as "The Black Abyss" (which is the closing section of, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth") and, "The Festival - Arrival" (which is the opening section of "The Festival"). The remainder of songs on this album all represent what I believe to be the best extended and complex prog the band achieved (excepting, "Haunted" which is just a fun and concise rocker with prog touches).

In the context of prog, I don't think a "compilation/best of" album, no matter how good the songs, warrants a 5 star review. For me, a "masterpiece of progressive rock music" is much more than just a collection of songs, no matter how great they are. Since prog is, at it's highest level, an art form consisting of a combination of album cover artwork, musical concepts, recurring lyrical or stylistic themes, and engaging yet complex musical expression, it's not just about excellent yet disjointed songs. When you pluck individual prog masterpieces and throw them in a compilation album bucket, they lose the original context that made them part of a "masterpiece of progressive rock music" in the first place, or at least that's how I see prog compilation albums.

Even my own rating system for the prog collection I've put together over the past 40+ years, does not have a single 5 star rating for a compilation album (The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, 20 Years of Jethro Tull, This is the Moody Blues, Lost in the Woods, The Return of the Manticore, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, etc are all 4 star compilations. Like many of these, "The Witching Hour" is yet another example of a collection of 5 star prog songs, all excellent without a weak one in the bunch, yet the highest I'd feel comfortable rating any best of compilation is 4 stars which I believe this album also deserves.