THE MISSING PIECE

1. "Two Weeks in Spain" (3:00) Not a bad song despite the obvious employment of the latest popular sounds and technologies. (8.75/10)

2. "I'm Turning Around" (3:54) foreshadowing the shift that prog-lite bands like AMBROSIA, JOURNEY and And Then There Were Three-era GENESIS made from prog sophistication to radio-friendly Yacht Rock. (8.666667/10)

3. "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It" (2:20) Trying to harness the energy of Punk? My Sharona! There's even a little pre-Caddyshack and Footloose Kenny Loggins in here! (8.25/10)

4. "Who Do You Think You Are?" (3:33) a little sophisticated saloon Country-Western anyone? Not terrible--especially instrumentally--just a little laughable. (8.75/10)

5. "Mountain Time" (3:19) more piano-based salooon-style music that could have been impressive (and popular) in the US's Wild West of the 1890s or the Prohibition era swamp bars of the 1960s. (8.5/10)

6. "As Old as You're Young" (4:19) trying to be anachronistic with modern synths is interesting (and, ultimately, a bit of an impossibility). Still, this quirky Kerry Minnear-led is interesting and entertaining if sadly making clear the band's departure from the sophisticated prog of the past. (8.875/10)

7. "Memories of Old Days" (7:15) picked and strummed treated six- and 12-string guitar with various accompanying keyboard sounds opens this bucolic song that conjures up the Prog Folk elements of the previous years of progressive rock music explorations. So nice to hear Gary Green displaying his acoustic guitar talents. Kerry Minnear's use of keyboard sounds to generate instrumental sounds that the band would formerly have performed on period instruments like recorders is a bit disheartening. Still, this is a very fine song (if a bit Genesis-ian). (13.75/15)

8. "Winning" (4:12) "kitchen sink"-like percussion play opens this one before the (poorly engineered!) music kicks into a more typical GG, if WAR-"Cisco Kid"-inflected, sound. Interesting. The instrumental interplay is not unlike that of the Steve Howe-dominated era of YES going on Relayer through Drama. Not bad. Derek Shulman's singing is a bit strained though stereotypic for the uniquely GG melodies used.(8.875/10)

9. "For Nobody" (4:00) true GG music of the purest and most peak-era kind. Great guitar play--especially the way Gary's melody making previews and then mirrors the vocal Derek gives. Not a huge fan of the flanged vocal chorus, but, overall, the song is a great one. Also, Ray Shulman's work on the fretless bass is quite captivating. (9.25/10)

Total Time 35:52

The music is much more pop-poriented (warning the world of the coming of instrumentally-proficient and technologically-savvy bands like XTC, Toto, and Modern English), but it's still filled with tight instrumental play, Derek Shulman's usual vocals and lyrics, and plenty of sounds and moments of anachronistic influence.

B+/4.5 stars; not the brilliant shining masterpiece like the band's previous nine albums but not too far off track. The band obviously is trying new things and, perhaps, hoping for a little more radio and sales exploitation. I really like this album and find myself recommending it to any prog lover who hasn't heard it. It's still Gentle Giant!

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