CRYSTAL BALL

Again an album by a band that helped me enter and fall into love with the "prog" side of music, but which I had skipped due to its band members' choice to steer away from the experimental, album-oriented musical explorations. The radio successes of "Lady" and "Light Up" and "Lorelei" had, I think, lured them into the game of seeking "hits" and power-packed four- and five-minute songs over the suites and epics that had previously tempted them. Plus, I think Tommy Shaw was the recruit that kind of sealed the commitment to "rock" over "experimental" music. (Don't get me wrong: Mr. Shaw's talents are nothing to laugh at: he is quite talented as both guitarist, singer, and songwriter; he just had a more natural predilection toward rock than prog.) With Crystal Ball the band were able to crank out three more earworm anthems of radio- and crowd-friendly songs in "Jennifer" "Mademoiselle" and the title song. Even the opener, "Put Me On" couldn't help but display the band's previous and continued fixation and curiosity with classical music forms and structures, but then they develop into hard rockin' Blue Öyster Cult-like aggression. Overall, Tommy's influence hadn't really taken over, he was still a guest/sideman, so the Panozzo/DeYoung/Young/Curulewski Catholic school collaborative spirit still reigned supreme--and Tommy fit in at first (listen to that searing guitar throughout Jennifer!). His stage presence (and long-haired angelic looks) gave the band a new dimension in concert (one that led to the attendance of swooning teenage girls--an element that was often absent at the concerts of the true hardcore progressive rock bands). "Shooz" and "This Old Man" (Tommy's impressive debut as a lead vocalist) showed the band's interest in exploring the type of jam music coming from the Southern Rock scene. "Clair de lune/Ballerina", like the title suggests, shows the band once again taking a well-known piece of pop classical music, and forcing it into a rock form and sound palette, and, unfortunately, once again not really succeeding (as Renaissance or ELP would). Again, this is not really a prog rock lover's dream album, but it is yet another step forward in the development and maturation of one of America's great stadium rock bands. Another album that is too good to relegate to the three star bin.