DANIEL GAUTHIER

One of the lesser known canadian multi instrumentalists of last two decades or so is for sure Daniel Gauthier. He released under his name three albums, his latestes from 2008 named The wish is to his best one. Well, dispite some almost negative reviews here and there about The wish, I find this album truly enjoyble from start to finish. The music is neo prog with spacey aproach a ala Pink Floyd, but aswell some symphonic passages apear here and there. All pieces have same level with a plus one Just For A While and the epic Song For Them, inspired arrangements, good ideas and good music overall. Is well to known that Guthier is responsable for all instruments on the album. All in all this album doesn't reach the beauty of other neo prog albums in last decade, but to me is fairly decent towards great in places. 3.5 stars for sure, a very fine art work and comes in digipak format.

The album shows a man with talent, trying hard to come up with some smooth, modern Symphonic/Neo Prog with light Electronic touches, where PINK FLOYD, MARILLION and GENESIS influences are more than obvious.The result is very secure Progressive Rock with well-crafted compositions and a Neo Prog attitude, where production, vocals and some dead holes are definitely a serious issue.There is a certain difficulty by Gauthier to deliver strong instrumental moments, the arrangements are quite mellow with plenty of vocals and some nice symphonic soundscapes, but the overall performance is rather inconsistent and at moments too one-dimensional.Speaking of vocals, the English-sung are tracks are rather indifferent, the French vocals though have a very warm flavor.Most of the album alternates between acoustic textures with soft guitar touches and sometimes delicate flute, not unlike early GENESIS, and keyboard-based spacey/symph parts in the vein of FRUITCAKE or the mellower stuff of US and ELEGANT SIMPLICITY.His ideas though sound interesting and a help by a stable bandcore should have really helped.

''En ce jour et pour toujours'' is an album of dreamy, ethereal Progressive Rock, which however lacks a huge amount of energy and dynamics, as this is strongly based on Gauthier's atmospheric playing.Good album for fans of smooth Neo/Symphonic Progressive Rock, but rather a miss for more demanding prog ears...2.5 stars.

Well, at least that´s what I can pont my finger at. The rest is just alright, I really liked Guathiers instrumental side. He plays great bass, good acoustic guitar and real fine synphonic keyboards. Gaston Gagnon is a terrific guitarrist and his solos are one of the CD´s highlights. The music is an interesting mixture of prog folk, symphonic rock plus some blues and jazz bits here and there. I don´t know why he is labeled as neo prog, but then it is hard to define his music anyway. It´s quite varied and I can say there is no bad moments. Nothing really excited me, but still the music is good. It just does not fit my current taste, I guess. So 3 stars will do it for me.

The follow up has been years in the making, yet little has changed in the overall mood and approach, which in itself bodes well. The main differences lie in the more subdued bass work and the lesser appeal of the melodies. As a result, while this isn't STARCASTLE, it sounds far more like a YES wannabe than did "Above the Storm". Tracks like both the bookending title cuts, "The Clock" and "Once in Time" simply pass by without notice, while others like "Just for a While" and the epic "Song for Them" are decent with occasionally inspired themes but promise more than they ultimately deliver, their powerful sections alternating with passages that simply dissipate into the background.

"Axis of Men" is the best cut overall, with some clever vocoder work and contrasts, but even here his vocal passages do not carry as well into the instrumental sections, which seem more unfocused and doodling than they ever did on "Above the Storm".

My expectations were high for Gauthier after all this time, but I confess to being disappointed, my wish unfulfilled. Still if you enjoy the above mentioned artists, as well as ELOY and CLEPSYDRA, you might appreciate this slightly above average release.

"Above The Storm" opens with heavy rains and thunder as synths come in.The storm stops as acoustic guitar, bass and other sounds arrive. Vocals before 2 1/2 minutes. Electric guitar and chunky bass 4 1/2 minutes in. Nice. He then brings us back to that earlier sound with vocals to end it. "Empty Space" has such a rich sound to open. Vocals join in quickly. "Evening Of A New Romance" is uptempo and i'm reminded of CAMEL when the guitar arrives. It settles some when the vocals come in. These contrasts continue. Piano, bass and drums stand out 3 minutes in. The guitar before 4 1/2 minutes is tasteful. "Quartet Solo" opens with synths before we get this nice heavy sound with the guitar lighting it up. It settles with deep bass lines and a beat. "Soft Souvinirs Of 184" is a 2 minute epic sounding track. "Real Love" features acoustic guitar melodies as vocals join in. I love how this sounds. The reserved vocals and bass are excellent. Prominant guitar 3 1/2 minutes in before we get some beautiful acoustic guitar. Vocals are back to end it.

"Silent Years" opens with drums and this all sounds so good when it kicks in. Vocals join in. Deep bass after 2 1/2 minutes when the vocals stop. It all picks up before 4 minutes. "Cross The Bridge" is the 18 minute closer. It opens with the sound of someone walking and whistling as they open a door. The bass comes in followed by a full sound. Guitar a minute in and vocals before 2 minutes. Organ after 6 1/2 minutes as bass throbs and drums pound. The guitar joins in a minute later. Expressive vocals 9 minutes in and a great sound follows a minute later. Synths and a lighter sound 11 1/2 minutes. A heavy soundscape takes over around 15 1/2 minutes.The song ends with someone walking and pouring a drink.

An enjoyable album for me from start to finish.

"Above the Storm" is a much less bombastic album than most neo prog, with few heavy elements, and avoiding overflowing arrangements in favour of texture and melody. It is a wise move, since Gauthier plays most instruments and might otherwise overwhelm us if he was to be cloned a few too many times. His arsenal is particularly well equipped on bass, which almost singlehandedly conjures one of the highlights of the disk, "Evening of a New Romance", one part reflective rocker and one part spacey instrumental in which lead guitarist Gaston Gagnon provides a perfect foil for the bass. "Silent Years" sports a similar construction without repeating itself, and in fact the last minute and a half are reminiscent of some of ELOY's classic work. "Cross the Bridge" is the 17 minute closer that confirms Gauthier's adventurousness while lying within spitting distance of a sparer ALAN PARSONS.

The weaker pieces are only so assessed in comparison with the highlights, and tend to be those that are more vocal oriented, like the title cut and "Real Love", in which the preciousness of the phonetic approach and admittedly simplistic lyrical themes stand starkly in need of a PENDRAGON-like washout. But more often than not "Above the Storm" hits the mark because of its refreshingly understated approach with no attempt to sound more polished than it is, or to jar the listener with arresting tempo changes. Gauthier seems to be above all that, hence merits an extra half star.