CATHARSIS

Veteran keyboard whiz NICK MAGNUS has been a steady force for 4 decades in keeping the spirit of those early STEVE HACKETT albums alive. As a mission, you could do much worse, and since Magnus was there, it's no surprise that he has been striking the bullseye more often than not. In fact, his solo works are like primeval Hackettsian projects that don't want to, and largely do not, evolve. But they do entertain with intelligent compositions and arrangements, as well as some help from a few old friends. Unfortunately, "Catharsis" does so less, being just a bit overly dreamy, vocal rich, light, and subdued in production, perhaps reflecting his relationship with the corner of France that spun the musical yarns herein. For the listener it's one of those "you had to be there" travelogues with a few wow moments mostly in the opener and closer, and some fine instrumental work in between like the Jan Akkerman-like "Convivium". I just can't get inspired by the shading towards other former GENESIS solo contrivances like "Three Tall Towers" and "The Devil's Bridge". Perhaps the DVDs that come with the physical package might help more with the story, but for the audio portion this seems more like a holding on rather than a release.