FINNEUS GAUGE

I think "One Inch of the Fall" is pretty awesome, even slightly better than the band's first release, "More Once More".

And it's great for all of the right reasons. This is jazz/fusion progressive rock of the very highest order. The very confidence, audacity and courage in the music and playing actually raises one's emotional level while listening! And THAT's why we listen to music.

The sound of Finneus Gauge is frequently compared to early Bruford and the first U.K. album, and rightly so (though perhaps a bit more aggressive here). Along with the complex meters and melodic, angular lines, there is the great guitar playing of Scott McGill (sounding much like Allan Holdsworth); group leader(?) John Buzby on drums who makes great use of the high snare drum and cymbals, similar to Mr. Bruford; brother Chris Buzby (of Echolyn fame) doing his best impersonation of the great Dave Stewart; and Laura Martin singing the avant-garde jazz vocals that are very reminiscent of Annette Peacock (and, at times, even Joni Mitchell). The bass guitar is handled very ably on all tracks by Chris Eike; he doesn't play like Jeff Berlin, but he's a great talent for this demanding style of music. Harmony vocals are provided by the Buzby brothers.

"Oh, so this is derivative music?" you say. Well, yeah, a little bit I guess.....but what better place to start being derivative than with 1977 Bruford? I mean, there's a virtual goldmine of music in this genre/niche that's barely been touched. Personally, I'll buy more.

Compared to "More Once More", this album seems to be mixed a lot cleaner - no speaker overload, and everything is distinct and balanced. And this album gets a little more rockier than the first album on a couple of tracks (notably, "Open up the Fog Lines" and "Golden Pretzel", the latter of which also contains an absolutely killer instrumental section with non-stop guitar soloing over an ever-changing time signature that I just can't count out! Good luck to you Pythagoreans.) The quieter "Early Sun" is the most acoustic song FG ever did, and very cool. Everything else is a musician's workout.

If you can find the Cyclops label release that includes three bonus tracks that are live versions of songs from the first album, you've really hit the jackpot.

As the title implies, this music plays dangerously close to the precipice without going over. Since this is the last cd from this short-lived group, why not snatch up the cd, and experience the thrill for yourself? You'll only fall....in love with the music.

Following the transient disbanding of ECHOLYN,their keyboardist Chris Buzby formed FINNEUS GAUGE in 1996,named after Phineas Gage,a railway construction foreman of 19th century,who survived after a big piece of iron passed through his head during an accident.On FINNEUS GAUGE we also meet Chris' younger brother John on drums (later to form ''Land of chocolate'') and talented fusion guitarist Scott McGill.In 1997 the band recorded and released their debut ''More once more''.

Elements,sights and sounds met in ECHOLYN's works are also present here,but ''More once more'' is way more complicated than anything created by ECHOLYN,while the music approaches more the fusion/jazz side of prog than the symphonic one.Without being excessive,this is one of the most complex and craziest albums around!The tracks follow a fast and furious tempo,characterized by the superb guitar work of McGill, recalling ALLAN HOLDSWORTH at his best,and the obscure and challenging keyboard parts of Chris Buzby.Some mellow atmospheric intros with Laura Martin's voice on the front are somewhat needed to lighten things,but soon what is to be heard is complicated interplays between the rhythm section and the guitars or keys,accompanied by endless multi-vocal harmonies in the vein of GENTLE GIANT.All performances, especially McGill's,are excellent but be warned that ''More once more'' won't be everybody's cup of tea,despite its undoubtful high level of musicianship.This is the definition of an album,that needs a good number of spins to be appreciated.Personally,I found it very attractive, demanding and professional and an easy choice for a day,when I need something trully intricate to listen to...

Warping, waving, and breaking the commonness of music theory...this album should make me smiley.

Finneus Gauge followed, but softened the music style of Echolyn. I consider the softness of the style is owed to Laura Martin, the female vocalist, and her soft and mild voice. In spite of softness, their rigid and strict work and thought for music make them do complex and destructive play perfectly. They do break the tuning and rhythm, and make us listeners confused comfortably. (^_^)

I want to recommend, for understanding them easily and straightly, the songs More Wants More, Calling Card, and Salvation, because I suggest especially this three tracks express their identity well.

I wanna say BRAVO for their solid and steady potencial.

The ephemeral project Finneus Gauge was a joint venture founded by brothers Christopher and John Buzby right after the demise of Echolyn. "One Inch of the Fall" was the second and last FG album, since soon after the release a somewhat acrimonious break-up took place (the album's title was also a premonition.). Anyway, with the reformation of Echolyn and the formation of Land of Chocolate, both Buzby guys managed to keep themselves busy in the world of art-rock. What can one expect from this band? Well, really a jazz-oriented type of prog rock, not too far from the stance that Echolyn had achieved for their "As the World" album, yet FG is anything but a facsimile of Echolyn. FG likes to focus on the amalgamation of jazz-rock and symphonic-oriented prog in many passages, but that's as far as the Echolyn parallels go. Given the specific inputs brought by singer Laura Martin, bassist Chris Eike and guitarist extraordinaire Scott McGill, it seems obvious just by reading the credits what kind of musical tendency the informed prog listener should expect. The writing and arranging strategies consistently create hard rocking guitar phrases, careful use of weird chord progressions (especially on the keyboard layers and bases), a notorious use of funky-like grooves in the complex rhythm structures (something like Shulman/Weathers-meets-Pastorius/Acuña). With the warmth of Laura's timber and style, the melodic motifs are given a special depth above and through the dynamic instrumentations. Canterbury, standardize psychedelic rock, Allan Holdsworth, Gentle Giant, Pastorius- era Weather Report, Thinking Plague - all these individual elements are clearly noticeable as influences for FG. 'Open Up the Fog Lines' opens up the album with splendorous energy. This same energy is retaken yet refurbished with a more controlled dynamics in the following three tracks (arguably, the best section of the album). Fresh and catchy, all three tracks are clearly structured under a calculated scheme. This factor helps to enhance the intrinsic jaw-dropping magic of each McGill solo every time it comes to the fore (his leads on 'Blogee's Lament' are humanly impossible, to quote the eternal maestro Zappa). Christopher Buzby, whose role in this band is less prominent than in Echolyn, also makes our minds boggle every time he displays a solo. 'Unsinkable You' is a rare example of mixing RIO and jazz- rock in a not too inscrutable progressive scheme. 'State of the Art' sounds similar in spirit to tracks 2 & 3, only with a more elaborated melodic approach: this allows Laura to work on the more subtle spaces of her vocal range. After yet another McGill solo, Buzby makes a fabulous impersonation of Kit Watkins: this track's instrumental expansion is another highlight. 'Early Sun' brings an intimate mood, close to the standards of country. 'Golden Pretzel' closes down the album on an aggressive note, with Laura working on her (unusual) rough facet. The instrumentalists shoot a Thinking Plague-meets-Zappa crossfire in order to provide a challenging sophistication to the relatively simplistic compositional basis. This song serves as an adequate closure for a powerful album: Finneus Gauge definitely does not deserve to be forgotten.

When ECHOLYN broke up after the "As The World" album Chris Buzby formed his own band FINNEUS GAUGE. ECHOLYN would eventually reform but not before Chris and his band blessed us with 2 albums, including this one "One Inch Of The Fall". I understand the band named themselves after a railway worker named Finneus Gage who sort of became famous back in 1848. During some blasting a small piece of pipe went through under his chin and out the top of his head.They dared not try to remove it, instead they cut off each end and sent him home. He apparently lived this uncomfortable and painful(headaches) way for 13 more years as a recluse. The music here is not that accessible, it has a Rio flavour at times with the drumming of Chris' brother John being the highlight for me.The female vocals are well done and suit the music quite well. Scott McGill is on guitar, enough said.

"Open Up The Fog Lines" opens with heavy guitar before the (at times) purposely off key vocals and dissonant sounds come in. Rio influenced no doubt.This is different but it works extremely well. One of my favs off the album. "In A Different Hour" is more uptempo with prominant odd metered drumming. I like when it calms down after 2 minutes followed by some incredible guitar.The calm passage returns 4 minutes in followed by an even better guitar solo. "One Inch Of The Fall" opens with vocal melodies and some tasty organ runs. I love the intricate drumming as the song settles down with vocals. Some nice bass 2 1/2 minutes in. Great sound 4 minutes in. The vocal melodies are so good. Impressive guitar after 6 minutes. More organ in this one as well.

"Biogee's Lament" is like organized mayhem. Haha. I can't say enough good things about the drumming. Lots of keys early but the guitar starts to take over 2 minutes in and actually dominates the rest of this instrumental along with the drumming. Keys are sprinkled in throughout. "Unsinkable You" has some nice bass lines throughout. The multi-vocal sections were the only times I thought of ECHOLYN during this whole album. "State Of Art" is where she sings her best in my opinion. I wish I had the lyrics for this song. This is a very melodic song with guitar shining as well. "Early Sun" has a melancholic vibe to it. Keyboard solo 2 minutes in. Nice jazzy tune. "Golden Pretzel" is my least favourite song as her vocals are so aggressive and hard to listen to. A Rio flavour to this one as well. Check out the prolonged guitar solo though. Oh my ! This is worth the price of the cd alone.

Easily 4 stars. Adventerous music done at the highest possible level. Highly recommended. Many listens required.

It's nearly impossible you don't like this album if you think you have strong passion in jazz-rock or Canterbury music with a bit of open mind in accepting any kind of music that flows into your ears and your mind. By design, this is absolutely a masterpiece album. This is a good example of combination between complexity (relatively high, in my opinion) and weak of melody which results in excellent harmony. Got confused? Hope you are not! My thesis is pretty simple. If you need a prog album must be complex, this album delivers it through interactions of Scott McGill stunning guitar work (sometimes in the style of Holdsworth) and inventive keyboard work of Chris Buzby. So, this album is yours. On melody line, I don't think this is the right choice for you (if you expect too) cause I think most tracks featured here do not provide what so called "melodic" or "touchy" segments of the music offered. However, these two components interact wonderfully in excellent harmony. That's the beauty of this album. You got complexity without touchy melody line but the combination of the two gives you excellent harmony. Such a simple thesis, right? Let's see how the music flows.

The album kicks off with "More Wants More" (7:34) in upbeat tempo and relatively complex arrangement plus many syncopated chords. If you get used to Bill Bruford's "Feels Good To Me" album, it'll be okay for you to enjoy this track. Next is wonderful composition "King Of The Chord Change" (5:40). As the title implies this song features some acrobatic chord changes even though the song sounds easy listening during lyrical verses. Laura Martin's voice is quite fit with the song style. Again, McGill's guitar solo is awesome. I especially like the music interlude. "Press The Flesh" (7:43) is beat-wise quite strange to my ears because it sounds like having syncopated chords. This is not the case when vocal enters the music. The music brings to a break with mellow track "Desire "(4:45).

"Doogins (The Evil Spawn)" (5:16) and "Customer Service" (5:32) are typical in nature and both have upbeat style. "Customer Service" is quite strange for my ears but I really enjoy the rhythm section. Oh man .. I really put my two thumbs up for McGill's crazy guitar solo! It's pondering into my head! I love it especially when it is interjected with Laura's singing. "Calling Card" intro reminds me to the use of Synthaxe in Holdsworth albums. It sounds alike. The music follows previous style with excellent Laura voice. If you want to feel and experience how the band delivers complex chords, sacrificing the melody line, but result in great harmony - you should listen to "Salvation". Oh it's unbelievable that the harmony can be achieved like this song.

Overall, this is an excellent album with very tight composition, complex (and it sacrifices melody line) structure, and excellent musicianship. It's not recommended for those of you who do not appreciate complexity. Neo prog lovers (me included) is note recommended to have this album unless they can tolerate songs with weak melody. The beauty of this album is in its excellent harmony. If you can accept ECHOLYN, Bill Bruford "Feels Good To Me", or Allan Holdsworth, you might be able to enjoy this album.Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

The arrangements are fun and satifying - I was glad the song wasn't over and we were returning to a section or phrase once again. Alan Holdsworth fans will appreciate this album and was wondering whether or not it was him I was hearing before reading the credits. The female vocals are reminiscent of Annette Peacock with Bill Bruford, maybe a little more pallatable.

Marvelous music,indeed!!!Something like a fresh breath in today's poor and simplistic music...Real guitar wizzardry and a perfect alchemy between all the musicians involved!!! This is when real intelligent music is played with passion for something...different and a little unconventional... and it's called PURE ART !!!Mc GILL fans will be thrilled...and ECHOLYN fans too...Great musical discovery...Check this out!!!It worth it....Ovidiu from Romania...a total prog fusion fan

I'm writing this review with "ecstasy" as I'm now feeling HIGH enjoying the terrific music composition of this band!!! Yeah .. It elevates my emotion. This album is damn great! First of all, it's hard for me to classify under which category their music is. Probably close to ALLAN HOLDSWORTH's or BILL BRUFORD's "Feels Good To Me" (especially the song that has female vocal) or NATIONAL HEALTH's or UK's first album. Of course, ECHOLYN kind of music is here as well. Definitely the music of this album is not the kind of GENESIS (any era) music or even YES. It has a very intense jazz components in it. It's complex, but it's enjoyable.

Musicianship? Perfect! All contribute really well in this album. The way bass guitar is played really stunning. Organ sound is dynamic and shuffling. Female vocal flows harmoniously over music passage with little high and low variation. I would say the vocal part tends to be flat but it suits the music perfectly. Lead guitar? Scott McGill plays it wonderfully!

The beauty of this album (another thing) is that the quality of all songs are almost the same, each song is great! So, if I comment on some tracks only, it does not mean that other track does not deserve for review. No no no no . not at all! Wanna proof yourself? Just purchase the CD! You would hardly regret man!

The opening track "Open Up the Fog Lines" set the atmosphere of the album. Almost all tracks are in the same vein as this track. "Early Sun" is relatively slow track as compared to majority of songs. It has strong jazz platform in its musical scene. If I am asked to pick the best track and only one that I can choose, definitely I will go for "Golden Pretzel". Why? It has a unique arrangement and melody. The way the singer sings is really rocking. The keyboard is stunning. It's a nice blend of rock and jazz, I think.

My CD has three additional tracks recorded live from their previous work. All are performed perfectly. Overall, I have no other reason to classify this work as masterpiece as all tracks are excellent and beautifully crafted. One final point, beware of purchasing this CD if you are not into the kind of ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, BILL BRUFORD, NATIONAL HEALTH, ECHOLYN kind of music. Gatot Widayanto - Indonesia.

Echolyn's temporary transition into a band that in parts suggest themselves at times to be somewhere musically between UK and Bruford. Some of that stems from guitarist Scott McGill's Holdsworthian playing. The female vocalist lacks range, so offering a Geddy Lee challenge when first heard. All the tunes are reasonable to good jazz rock/prog rock. If you like Bruford's "Feels Good...", then give this a chance.

Footnote. Do anybody else find it a bit peculiar that a British independent label, Cyclops, distributed Finneus Gauge, an American band's album at the beginning of the 90's - but I suppose IQ's "Giant Electric Pea Records" label handled Spocks Beard first 4 or 5 albums...........................?