HANDS

It's pretty sad when you read about how these 70s prog bands spent countless hours composing, practicing, and promoting their music only to find indifference from the general public. This was the case with the Texan band HANDS. The band, made-up of gifted musicians from the same small town, recorded some excellent prog between 1977-1980 only to have to give up because of lack of interest. Their music was inspired mostly by GENTLE GIANT (they got to open for them once!), but I'm sure the other major prog bands were also influences. Each song's multiple sections feature different styles that range from guitar-led riffing, to baroque, to dissonant-prog-funk, to gentle flute/mellotron interludes(which sound very Swedish!). The weakest part for me here are the vocals which sound a bit like John WETTON. But they are far from being mediocre, it's just that WETTON isn't one of my favorite vocalists. This CD is a must for fans of bands like CATHEDRAL, MIRTHRANDIR, and anyone exploring the seventies American prog-scene.