THE MUSIC THAT DIED ALONE

Classic prog never sounded so good. This debut by the Tangent is a towering homage to the greats of the '70's but is nonetheless performed with enough contemporary flair and energy to make it distinctly unique. Musically diverse and dynamic, MTDAlone is PACKED with instrumental and songwriting excellence. Tillison's keyboards are among the best in the business (and not just because they don't sound like a church organ), while the rest of the band is absolutely outstanding.

Many similarities have been made to the Flower Kings, which I think is entirely appropriate; however, with the Tangent listeners don't have the baggage of pointless fillers, jam-sessions, saccharine pomp, and trite lyrics they do with TFK. Roine is kept on a leash here, crooning only occasionally and even then with lyrics not written by him (hurray!); his and Reingold's guitars are ON FIRE throughout though. Manning's vocals are new to me, and a very accomplished. He has a smooth timbre and nicely accented voice; mature and sensitive. Lyrics are in generally good, but come across as rhetoric for much of the album.

Songwriting is typically fast-paced with great melodies and proggish hooks. The band changes gears often and is quite accomplished in many styles/tempos.

A must listen for fans of classic progressive rock, or for those who have sworn it off.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4