Could someone live in Manchester and not know Manchester United exist? (Even though I often wish they didn't!). I doubt it.

So how come I've lived in York for nearly 30 years and I'd never heard of this superb York based band until I found this site? Nothing in the local press, very little word of mouth. Probably because they're an untrendy prog band.

But their CD Live At the Grand Opera House has got to be one of the best releases since the heyday of prog in the 70s. Sort of Pink Floyd meets Camel meets Renaissance; how could they fail to be good?

Any other fans out there?

As a subscriber for news of Classic Rock Productions label, I received via e-mail information about Mostly Autumn DVD "The Story So Far..". It was in 2001, the band just signed to CRP. Then I visited band's site and decided to order this DVD. After first watching I became MA fan, since then I'm trying not to miss any of their important releases 

Really the best band appeared in the last 20 years.

Unfortunately MOSTLY AUTUMN are not well known in Russia. It is possible to find their CD's and DVD's in good record stores, but most of rock fans don't know the band.

Kotro wrote: Unfortunately, I feel their are loosing grip on what made them so good, as they seem to be turning to hard rock more than prog-rock.

It's true that the opening of the new album with two very similar "hard rock-ish" songs is not very interesting, but what I fear most about the last two albums is how they are forgetting their celtic touches more and more, and I don't like that.

They are very talented band with a magical fusion of Prog/folk/rock.In Heather Findlay they have a terrific lead singer.Their guitarist Brian Josh is clearly influenced by Pink Floyd but he is very good guitarist.Their Celtic sound comes from their wonderful flautist Angela Gordon interchanging with Heather who plays an assortment of penny and low whistles.Give them a good listening to and you will discover a very fine band.I and Shrinking Violet saw them last week at Glasgow University and as always they were great with a guest spot from Fish to boot.

I like them a lot, "Mother Nature", the final song of "The Last Bright Light" is my fav.

I have followed mostly autumn since i first starting going to gigs , the first time i saw them i was enchanted , i was hooked by their musicianship  which pulsates with energy flare and passion.mostly autumn provide a fresh outlook on music for the future which fills my heart with joy. mostly autumn are different from other new prog bands around. from the start it was clear to see who they were and are influenced by.however, with passengers it broke away from this a bit, passengers see mostly autumn try something different , it displays their evolvment as does storm over still waters, the thing is with change its 50/50, some will like it some wont, yet my point is that dont class this as one of their worst albums (passengers) because its different from the rest , it still shows much empathy and feeling , which is personal to them but something deep down we can relate to , for example last bright light was bryan josh tribute to his father and bitterness burnt is heathers own tribute to her late father. with passengers it shows how the band has developed and become stronger discovering their own strengths , heather certainly shows on this album how her voice is stronger and more confident which is really noticable on tracks such as Caught in a fold and Answer the question, yet still has that softness about it shown on Pass the Clock , bitterness burnt and Another life. One of my faves is Distant train , a simple yet moving instrumental . Storms blew me away such a terrific and exciting album , the future is certainly positive if mostly autumn keep up the hard work , but their efforts certainly shine through. All in all as you can guess my fave song is Shrinking Violet  beautiful sensual and very personal which can relate to . to reiterate a point its  great  being able to convey feelings and emotions in such a fashion that it touches each and every one of its fans. im also partial to a wee shindig lol love the folk stuff as always good to get the people jigging indeed  the amalgamation of bodrahn , low and penny whistles with recorders and flutes  is sensatinal with a profound effect adding to the phenomenal music , the terrific playing by bryan josh who gets better and better and this all accumalates to achieve an electric intense atmosphere thats an experience not to missed!!!!!!  i can only see good things happening for this band , every band does have their flaws but lets not be nitpicky, lets enjoy good musicianship creating some of the best music thats around today . a fine thing to behold .

p.s with their most recent works it shows mostly autumn developing their own uniqueness and not a band replicating previous ones.

peace

**********MOSTLY AUTUMN************

Dirk wrote: Kotro wrote: MEEEE!!! I enjoy them very much, and got a chance to see the band perform and speak to them at their concert in Portugal last June. I have been a fan for two years or so. Unfortunately, I feel their are loosing grip on what made them so good, as they seem to be turning to hard rock more than prog-rock. I agree last album was dissapointing. Rest of the albums are excellent if i had to give ratings: For all we shared              4 1/2 stars Passengers                      4 stars Spirit of autumn past        4 stars Last bright light                4 stars Tolkien                           3 stars Storms                           2 1/2 stars I also saw their concerts in Zoetermeer and at the Hunten pop festival, first concert was great , the second slightly dissapointing. I really hope their next albumwill be up to their former standard. There are enough metal bands out there but there is only one Mostly autumn.

Since I live in the U.S. (Los Angeles, California), I've never had the pleasure of seeing the band live. However, I've seen all of their DVD concerts (V Shows, Pink Floyd Revisted, Story So Far, etc.) I'd have to agree that Storms Over Still Water is by far their weakest effort to date. It's funny, that seems to be the attitude of most MA fans I've come across. This is in contrast to what the band express as their best album to date. I've heard that on the offical Mostly Autumn forum on their website, that moderators tend to "silence" any critics, and the free speech is at a minimum when it comes to critizing the band. Hopefully word will get to them somehow that Storms was a stinker.

Politician wrote: They're OK, but nothing special. Certainly they can write a good tune now and then, but I find their music very safe and predictable and not particularly progressive.

I think "safe" is the right word when it comes to Storms Over Still Water. I'd say their days of Evergreen, Night Sky, and The Last Climb are gone for good. Replaced with a band that is moving more towards the sounds of the Wilson sisters of 1970's Heart, than Pink Floyd.

ShrinkingViolet wrote: ...Storms blew me away such a terrific and exciting album , the future is certainly positive if mostly autumn keep up the hard work , but their efforts certainly shine through.

I admire the band and all of it's defenders. As far as Storms goes, I just think I'm calling a spade a spade. Not their best work IMO. 

Politician wrote: They're OK, but nothing special. Certainly they can write a good tune now and then, but I find their music very safe and predictable and not particularly progressive.

And not very interesting or exciting. This is not a band for me at all.

Politician wrote: They're OK, but nothing special. Certainly they can write a good tune now and then, but I find their music very safe and predictable and not particularly progressive.

But their sound is quite unique. I don't think you'll confuse them with any other band.

Richardw wrote: I think their music is good but I just can't take Bryan Josh's voice. If they left all the vocals to Heather Findlay I would like them much more.

I totally disagree. Bryan's voice, as well as his guitar, is a part of MA sound. He is not a great vocalist, but he has his own voice. As a parallel, imagine if DIRE STRAINS had better singer than Mark Knopfler . IMO, combination of male and female vocals works perfectly in MA songs.

Dirk wrote: ShrinkingViolet wrote: what do you not like about storms????? I just listened to the album again and i have to admit it's somewhat better then i remembered. It's just...the other albums are so good,. this album just doesn't make it to that level. On the other albums there were always some songs that i found absolute fantastic. On this albums there also some good songs but nothing really outstanding. For instance Heart life is a good song that sounds like some ballads as Evergreen and Shrinking violet,it's not nearly as good as those though. Furthermorel Storms has a metal feel over it that i don't like very much.

Dirk, I totally agree with your comments. I guess I'm still looking for something to equal songs like Evergreen or Last Climb. I mean, we've all been spoiled wth epic tunes like Mother Nature, The Gap Is Too Wide and Heroes Never Die. I did really liked Passengers though. Still, nothing yet grabs me on Storms Over Still Water. The music is enjoyable though.

NotAProghead wrote: Richardw wrote: I think their music is good but I just can't take Bryan Josh's voice. If they left all the vocals to Heather Findlay I would like them much more. I totally disagree. Bryan's voice, as well as his guitar, is a part of MA sound. He is not a great vocalist, but he has his own voice. As a parallel, imagine if DIRE STRAINS had better singer than Mark Knopfler . IMO, combination of male and female vocals works perfectly in MA songs.

I didn't like Bryan Josh's voice at first, but I grew to like it - still not great though. Heather's voice is far superior, but the two of their voices work well when they sing together. I wouldn't mind if Heather took over all future vocal duties in the studio and let Bryan just do background vocals.

However, it's the man's guitar playing and songwriting that truly wires me up!

Tony Fisher wrote: Bryan admits (cos he told me so at a gig last year) that he can't sing to save his life. However, as a vocalist I think he does a decent job. But Heather Findlay is in a different league and Liam Davison can sing pretty well (sadly, Iain Jennings, an excellent singer, has just left the band, in case you didn't know) so perhaps Liam might do a bit more. I still think that they are head and shoulders above any band I've heard from recent times.

It is too bad about Iain leaving the band. Maybe they could get someone like Adam Wakeman to join the band. Or Richard Wright!

cuncuna wrote: I heard somewhere that Fripp is featured in one of their albums... ¿?

I've never heard anything about Fripp being involved with the band. However, it was Richard Wright who was quoted as saying he really enjoyed the band. Hence, all the Pink Floyd comparisons started coming. Though I think the Pink Floyd Revisited DVD is very interesting, it doesn't hold up after repeated viewings IMO.

Also, here's a list of the "famous" folks who appear on the band's new live album:

http://home.hetnet.nl/~nickgielkens/who_mostly.htm#stormsoverlondon - http://home.hetnet.nl/~nickgielkens/who_mostly.htm#stormsove rlondon

You can also see the Heather+Fish pics here too. Dang, Fish is one lucky guy!

I have been expressing a lot of interest in this band. I visisted their website, listened to a few sample songs, and love their sound, however, it is difficult to find their albums around here. it seems all of their albums are imports (at least on amazon.com they are).  This band seems like a mix of Renaissance and Pink Floyd.  In fact, they recorded a dvd where they cover a few pink floyd tracks. 

Im interested in the albums: Spirit of Autumn Past, Music from Lord of the Rings, and The Last Bright Light. 

Storms over Still Water, their most recent release, is a heavier than prior releases and bitt too drawn out. 

I recently had a local record shop near me order Spirit of Autumn past.  Hope it arrives soon.