CRIMSON STONE

Back in the Nineties I was running Feedback fanzine in the UK, and was fortunate enough to be in contact with the wonderful Larry Kolota who ran Kinesis, a record label who released both modern progressive rock (I was always very fond of Iluvatar) and reissues. One of the albums he sent me was 'East West', the debut by a UK act Multi Story, which was originally released in 1985. It gained a lot of attention at the time, and the band even toured as support to Magnum on the 'Storyteller's Night Tour'. But, by the time they went back into the studio to record the follow-up singer Paul Ford had left, replaced by Grantley Nicholas, later of Feeder. 'Through Your Eye's didn't build on the success of the debut, and soon the band was no more.

So, when I saw that they had a new album out it is safe to say that I was somewhat surprised! I still have the debut on my shelves, and recognised the name straight away. Original singer Paul Ford and keyboard player Rob Wilsher had been writing material together, and it was decided to actually turn the project into a band and resurrect a name that had disappeared a mere 29 years earlier. It perhaps isn't surprising that the material they have produced here sounds like a cross between neo-prog and Eighties prog, as that is the era they are from. They had the same influences as the likes of IQ, Pallas and Marillion, but whereas those bands have all moved on since then, Multi Story have stepped back in time, just with modern recording techniques. The result is an album that although not ground-breaking, is still a lot of fun and enjoyable for those who miss the "old" days. For me it is strangely familiar, yet new at the same time, and while never essential is still an album that is well worth investigating