YOU GO NOW

Kevin Moore's second and final solo album after leaving Dream Theater and Fates Warning--before the launch of OSI. It is, like it's predecessor, quite laid back and richly atmospheric. Obviously, Kevin has been impressed and affected by the manned space missions accomplished since the 1950s. Also, he is very much enjoying building songs around media voice samples.

1. "Get Back In The Car" (5:05) nice sleep-inducing fare. The vocal performance is, for my tastes, a little too laid back--almost as if he does really care. (8.5/10)

2. "Another Permanent Address" (5:05) a little more up-tempo, this one has a piano base that sounds like Bruce Hornsby. The vocal here is more engaged, the lyric a little more engaging, than that of the opener. Nice choruses and nice gentle piano solo in the instrumental section. (8.667/10)

3. "Nice To Know" (4:31) a slow, plodding, dramatic pace and CURE-like low-end leading soundscape supports Kevin's vocal. Too bad every vocal is fed through the exact same effects boxes; being a keyboard master, he obviously has choices of how he'd like his voice to sound. Still, it is one of the more interesting vocals on the album. The song has some cool heavier chords/sounds in between the vocals as well as an overall cool vibe to it. A top three song for me. (9/10)

4. "Lunar" (3:14) opens with TV anchor's news about an Apollo mission then piano with actual voice tapings of Apollo 11 astronaut and Mission Control intercommunication. Nice jazzy tropical outdoor lounge music in support. (8.667/10)

5. "When You Drive" (5:27) another vocal sample--this time from an Indian man--giving relaxing yoga-like driving lessons. Another vocal sample of a young girl singing in a foreign (Southeast Asian) tongue is used as well. A song with a nice groove that could fit well on one of the Buddha Lounge collections. I like it very much ... I'm just not sure how proggy this is. Another top three song. (8.75/10)

6. "Subway" (4:37) Vocoder Kevin sings over World Music / Buddha Lounge music for the first couple minutes until at 2:26 a heavy synth chord ups the intensity of tension for the following Peter Gabriel-like electric piano solo and then finally takes over and dominates for about a minute before VK rejoins. PG piano and African-like drums to end. (8.667/10)

7. "Please Hang Up" (1:59) weird, wobbly little thing that also reminds me of 1980s Peter Gabriel. Cute editing of the automated telephone operator's vocal. (4.25/5)

8. "Astronaut Down" (4:56) cool song using a nice, driving musical base over which astronaut samples are mixed with Kevin's effected voice and Peter Gabriel-like Fender Rhodes. Nice little synth solos starting at the end of the third minute and then, the second, later--all beneath astronaut chatter. My final top thee song. (8.75/10)

9. "You Go Now" (4:23) nice almost ambient Fender Rhodes-based electronica within which odd spacey sounds and vocal samples are woven. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 39:17

A very pleasant, unoffensive, often engaging if soporific album listen. While I do enjoy Kevin's use of media samples woven within the song structures, I just wish he would employ a little more dynamic diversity.

B/four stars; an interesting and enjoyably dreamy journey into the mellower side of former Dream Theater keyboard artist Kevin Moore's creative brainspace.