STARSHIP UNIVERSE

First of all: don't expect anything like straightforward neo prog when playing this album. It's more like a mix of neo, crossover and progressive electronic if you listen to the whole thing. Starship Universe is mainly instrumental album by keyboardplayer Mike Visaggio. When I heard it at first listen I even wondered if it was in the right place here on progarchives but after more spins it's more in between prog related and crossover because the style is very accessible and almost poppy at times (f.i. 5th track !).

But after more intensive listening and correct judgment I have to admit Visaggio does play his music in a quite complex way and therefore deserves the inclusion in the end. His playing style has some similarity with Vangelis but he plays his board pretty fast and so he makes a nice virtuoso impression because of that. In a few songs Visaggio also does the vocals but they aren't really great I have to say.

I'm pretty ambivalent about this release and have a hard time to decide for the ultimate rating. It's right in between 2 and 3 stars for me because I'm not very impressed with this album where the content of progressiveness is concerned. It's almost borderline prog to me and that's the reason I will round down. Nevertheless nothing really poor here so if you like your prog not too complex and enjoy the more easy listening/background style within music this could be for you.