TALES FROM THE LUSH ATTIC

After their debut in cassette demo with Seven Stories into Eight, IQ released their first official LP named Tales From the Lush Attic!

And they made history with this release because along with Script for a Jester's Tear, it is considered one of the first true neo-prog albums. But unlike the Marillion's debut, the sound of this self-produced album is not so great, especially in terms of vocals. In this album Peter Nichols does not sings in the refined, sharp and elegant style of more recent albums. Let's be honest, he sounds like a lousy iteration of Peter Gabriel.

That's a pity, because the quality of the album is otherwise excellent. The epic The Last Human Gateway is awesome and should be rewarded as one of the best neo-prog songs of the 80's. The rest of the record is a bit more irregular, especially the shorter tracks and this fact along with the aforementioned weak production is the reason that this album does not achieve a higher rating.

Best Tracks: The Last Human Gateway, Awake and Nervous and The Enemy Smacks.

Conclusion: despite the bad production, Tales From the Lush Attic is an obligated record to understand the birth of the neo-prog sub-genre.

My rating: ***