THE DREAMS OF MR JONES

Ark is one of the british bands from first wave of neo prog movement from early to mid '80's, but with all that they remain rather unnoticed in comparation with other names from this field. First album issued under Ark name appear in 1988 named The dreams of Mr Jones. Well in vein of Pendragon, Iq but little more straight in compostions, not overly complex or with comlicaterd moves in arrangements, but still enjoyble for sure. I like this first Ark album, very pleasent vocal parts sung by Anthony Short, not at all like Fish, more like Peter Gabriel in some parts, what he done in the '80's. The band and album generaly is totaly unnoticed , even by neo prog lovers, is nothing very impressive overall but belive me, has that special atmosphere of the neo prog of the '80's I realy like, sincere band in my opinion. Some members from here, among others John Jowitt on bass , he will meet him in Jadis couple of years later, doing what he know best neo prog. All pieces from here stands as good, not a weak moment IMO, the arangements are up tempo with little mellower parts, as a whole ok towards great, even the album is short in lenght almost 30 min, but better less and good then a lot and weak. 3 stars easy , realy one of the unfairly unnoticed band from the '80's neo prog movement, they were light behind in popularity , Pendragon, IQ, not to mention Marillion were already by this album issue 1988 gods in the field. The neo fans who wants to discover a sincere band with pleasent and enjoyble moments give this album atrey worth it.

Perhaps best known for featuring bassist John Jowitt who would, of course, go on to bigger and better things with Jadis and IQ, Ark arrived pretty late to the 1980's neo-prog party with the brief, low-budget, pop-tinged albeit rather colourful 1988 release 'The Dreams Of Mr Jones'. Issued on vinyl and featuring a truly striking sleeve, this is virtually DIY prog from an enthusiastic five-piece with limited resources, but boy do they make the best of them. With no epics and a notable lack of virtuoso soloing, Ark's debut instead seeks to straddle the chasm between the pop and neo-prog genre's, lightly glazing a set of catchy tunes with a progressive aesthetic manifested by the occasional jerky time-signature and the album's unifying if somewhat loosely-delivered theme of love, life and the fantasies we indulge in to break the monotony of modern life. This refreshingly simple approach results in a slightly crude overall album, though the group manage to produce a couple of genuine corkers in the shape of the charming and highly-emotive ballad 'Through The Night' and the anthemic rocker 'Powder For The Gun', two tracks with real hit single potential. Elsewhere, the jaunty pop-rock of 'Mabeline' adds sprightly synthesizers and a catchy chorus to the mix, though unfortunately the under-nourished instrumental architecture of the maudlin 'Kaleidoscope' and the unconvincing closer 'Nowhere's Ark' struggle to reach the same exciting levels. Coming in at just under twenty-nine minutes 'The Dreams Of Mr Jones' really does rush by, yet despite the constricting budgetary limitations and sparsely-structured nature of the music this is ultimately a pretty entertaining ride. If it's catchy songs you're after as opposed to lengthy song-suites and ambitious musical constructs, Ark's debut album should be right up your neo-prog shaped street. Although slightly limited in scope and style, this does feature at least two excellent tracks, showing there are still occasional nuggets to be unearthed within the spectrum of 1980s British prog for those who dig deep enough. By no means a classic, but 'The Dreams Of Mr Jones' is refreshing fun all the same.