FURTHERMORE

An excellent Gustafson (Quatermass, Roxy Music) bass riff opens this album, for a syncopated electro-funk song ( January First, 3:11) written by Shawn Phillips and John Peter Robinson (Quatermass). What are we listening to? A collaboration between SP and Quatermass? In fact this album, one of the most proggy by Phillips, sees our singer- songwriter exploring new musical directions, decidedly more electric than the trilogy (Contribution, Second Contribution, Collaboration) that made it more elaborate, complex, articulated, in a word more progressive, thanks to the increasingly massive collaboration with keyboardist JP Robinson, and secondly with cellist Paul Buckmaster.

The beginning, as just said, is a marvelous piece, very sustained, fast, complex, with a stratified music that, for the keyboard games, almost remembers Gentle Giant. Rating 8.

"Starbright (3:49)" follows: romantic ballad, with mellotron (Ann Odell) on the foreground. it's conventional, but the keyboard arrangement and Phillips' wonderful voice raises the quality of the piece. After having touched a remarkable climax on a "crescendo", the song, instead of concluding in a solemn and triumphant way, fades, too resignedly, which does not enhance it. Here the desire to make a sophisticated arrangement has prevented this song from being a masterpiece. Rating 7,5.

"Breakthrough (5:47)" is another romantic folk ballad with an acoustic beginning and a progression that sees the orchestra arrive, strings and woods, which embellish it in a masterly way, with a truly splendid sound, especially when the oboe enters but ... suddenly it fades too quickly (Rating 8), and afterwards two melodic, acoustic and slow pieces, SP picks up with the funky syncopation (Ninety Two Years, 3:08) that we heard at the beginning. Another good piece, seems not to miss a shot and, if anything, so far, to lack in depth, its splendid music is too concise, concentrated (Rating 7+).

"See You (4:14)", romantic, sweet, keyboards are more important than guitars in this album. After the beginning, the piece becomes orchestral, and at the end it is mixed with the last piece of the first side (Planscape, 4:17), instrumental, co-signed with Buckmaster; it is an electric jam, rhythmic, and again veiled with funky, with a powerful orchestra and an electric guitar in evidence (Caleb Quayle). It's a piece of symphonic prog, mixed with jazz rock, but closer to Afro-American, funky, soul music. Overall, Rating 8.

Excellent Side A, containing a lot of musical ideas, sophysticated compositions and arrangements but... it lacks in development of that ideas, so the pathos can't increase until touching elevated peaks.

Side B. "Troof (4:24)" is a piano ballad, very lyric, which then becomes symphonic prog. Also in this case, we are faced with a decidedly refined song, but with the arrangements that outweigh the inspiration of the piece. That is, we are always close to the masterpiece, but in my opinion something is missing in terms of melodic quality. Rating 7,5/8. An ethereal, abstract song follows, Cape Barres (4:02), largely made up of vocalizations, in the wake of what we have already heard in "Second Contribution". Here the quality rises, and SP must thank the Quatermass couple again, because the work of JP Robinson (co-author of the track) on keyboards, and that of Gustafson on the bass are as important as the vocal virtuosities of Phillips, which finally fades in a noisy piece, flooded with electronics and distorted singing. Masterpiece of sperimentalism, Rating 8,5.

"Song For Northern Ireland (2:07)" begins slow: after touching the abstract apex, our songwriter also touches the melodic apex with this track, mixed with the following "Mr President (3:35)" where finally we can hear a piece very inspired, a spontaneous melody, with an orchestral progression: in this case inspiration grows high as the arrangement. So, in this last three tracks, Phillpis reach the peak of masterpiece, suggesting us a fusion between symphonic prog, prog folk and jazz-funk-rock. Rating 8+.

Talking In The Garden (3:13) is mixed with the final track, "Furthermore" (2:30), instrumental (JP Robinson is co-author, once again), The beginning is, another time, slow and acoustic, with guitar and voice but soon the orchestra arrives and we listen to another wonderful symphonic prog (Rating 8), that, in the end become a boogie, a piece of fusion, instrumental, syncopated, with great work on the rhythm and keyboards bot too forced (It recalls Gentle Giant, again). that nothing adds up again (Rating 7+).

With Side B, Shawn Phillpis rise the quality of his music and so, this Lp is a little masterpiece, at the same level of Second Contribution. Here there is less folk and Classical music, more electronic and keyboards, more rhythm, more elaboration and orchestration of the arrangement, more prog attitude. The masterpiece of the third phase. Medium quality of the songs: 7,85.

Rating album 9, Five Stars.