CRAFT

The original eight songs have now been extended to 14, some of which did appear on the earlier reissue plus some which are new, giving us a total playing time of nearly eighty minutes. In many ways it is surprising they did not bring in a guitarist, as that sound is a very important aspect of the album, and in many ways reminds me of what The Enid themselves were doing when I saw them in 1992 with ex-Tygers of Pan Tang guitarist Neil Shepherd. However, Martin provides plenty of crunch to offset the multi-layered keyboards and playing it again I am still surprised this has not made more of an impact on progheads as this really is a delight from beginning to end with classical prog keyboards in abundance. While fans of The Enid may initially flock to this due to who is involved they will keep playing it just because it is so damn good, and in many ways shows what could have happened if they had stayed with The Enid. Why there was ever only one album I do not know, as this is a band who should have achieved so much more, but of course this was in a time when prog was being hammered by all aspects of the media so perhaps it is not surprising.

Martin Russell went on to form Afro Celt Sound System, while Grant Gilmour was in Pride of Passion, and I just hope progheads discover the album this time around as it is polished, and very different indeed to most of the prog these days. A real gem.

The opening track, "Aries" starts with a great phrasing on piano, which comes and go through the song, and is also used by the synth and the guitar. Without going repetitive, and dialoguing with other tunes. The similarity to Enid, here and on some other tracks, can be seen on the guitar performances.

A very pleasent combination of synth, piano and a bass sound makes the first part of next track, "Taurus". This one reminds Enid, but the bass sound and the piano tunes mark a difference, and gives it a fine mood, livener without exaggerations.

What an excellent track is "Gemini"! Drummer and guitar-player are particularly inspired. Both of them keep themselves on the composition, without much solos, but making subtle changes on rhythms and harmonies that enriches a lot the composition. That instrument-similar-to-bass again, and some brief interventions on the piano complete this great song.

"Cancer", track 4, is less complex. It has, though, some good phrasings on the guitar, and making with the drummer very good interplay. Its ending is bombastic playing, but also includes some brief marching themes.

Fifth track, "Leo", isn't as good as the previous stuff, but has some very inteligent and creative tempos on drums. Guitar-player makes a consistent and elegant shift from more pompous playing with more intimate interventions.

"Virgo", the last one, is very Enid-alike. It's the shortest song and doesn't reach 3min. Only synths. Weakest track.

If you have the original CD from Kinetic Records, I suggest you just ignore the two bonus tracks, "Branislana" and "So to Sleep". Very irritating how simple they are, and both have nothing to do with progressive rock.

My note without the bonus tracks is 4.2. With them, 3.9.

A tip: if you search it on spotify, look by the term "First Signs" on the album's title.

1 : Aries - 5.52

The first encounter with Craft their music evokes THE ENID but with a more modern sound and less bombastic. The contrast between the classical keyboards and the fiery electric guitar is captivating. The climates fluently changes from mellow to bombastic featuring wonderful classical orchestrations and ARP Pro Solist-like synthesizer flights.

2 : Taurus - 3.53

This is a bit dreamy piece with tender piano play, a soothing bass and soaring keyboards, topped by slow and sensitive electric guitar runs.

3 : Gemini - 7.11

The climate is bombastic featuring a propulsive beat and great interplay between the classical sounding keyboards and the harder-edged electric guitar. After a fiery electric guitar solo we hear wonderful orchestral keyboards, perfectly in balance with the guitar, it sounds compelling with a Wagnerian undertone.

4 : Cancer - 6.56

This track has some mellow atmospheres but in general it features a propulsive drum beat with bombastic keyboards and fiery electric guitar, this is the typical Craft sound, a captivating blend of classic (keyboards), symphonic and rock (guitar).

5 : Leo - 8.35

Again a propulsive drum beat and great sounding keyboards, this time organ and mid- Emerson-like synthesizer flights. The climates changes fluently and the fiery electric guitar is omnipresent, it gives the music an extra dimension.

6 : Virgo 2.27

A short and classical sounding song that has the most obvious echoes from THE ENID. Very refined and beautiful classical orchestrations.

A WONDERFUL BLEND OF CLASSIC, ROCK AND SYMPHONIC