STARCASTLE

STARCASTLE's roots can be found at a band called ''St.James'',formed in 1969 by some students of the University of Illinois in Champaign.The band suffered by line-up changes and had been renamed several times,until Terry Luttrell (ex-Reo Speedwagon) took over the vocals and they finally found their own style under the name STARCASTLE.In 1976 they published ''Starcastle'',which can be consider as the American answer to YES.At a time when YES slightly moved towards more accesible music forms,STARCASTLE recaptured some of their glorious past and taped it on ''Starcastle''.The album is haunted by the Jon Anderson-like vocals and the nice polyphonic vocal harmonies,while the music remains trully adventuruous and intricate.Very complex bass lines,captivating keyboards throughout,Steve Howe-like fantastic guitars and additionally nice drumming create an attractive work for all YES/symphonic lovers.However the albums lacks in originality and some people will accuse STARCASTLE as a total YES-clone,but nevertheless the album is a high-quality release with good,demanding arrangements and carefully-arranged vocal lines.YES fans should hurry for this one,progressive rock fans should also taste some of STARCASTLE's music,unless one has a big problem with (good) clones...3.5 stars are a fair rating IMHO...