STARLIGHT TALES

Episode was a band sorely in need of a good producer. There musicianship was superb, there songwriting good, and sometimes great. But always, when I listened to their recordings, did I find something was lacking. Often, the production seems to take away from the music. Particularly, on what sounds like strong passages in the music, is weakened by thin sounding instrumentation. The vocals, even more so. Many of the song are diluted by a lack of vocal production. While the singers certainly sound talented, and have fine voices, they come across as thin in the mix.

That said, I enjoy this band's music quite a lot. They write in a classic symphonic prog style. Nothing new and exciting, but definitely tasteful and pleasant. It's too bad they never got the attention they deserved.

Standout tracks here are the two epics, Edge Of The Sky, which originally appeared on a cassette release with a nice cover of Pink Floyd's Echoes, and Hesperates Rising.

With better production, this could easily have been a 4 star or better release.