THE WIDOW

I give this record 4 stars because everyone who enjoyed the Frances the Mute album should also hear the outtake title track. The song is exactly what you would expect from the Frances the Mute album. When the song rocks, it rocks good. However, it falls victim to the same pitfalls as the rest of the songs on the LP: too much annoying pretentious gobbeldy-gook noise. The track 'Frances the Mute' starts in with about 3 or 4 minutes of what sounds like a wrench banging on pipes. This noise is constant and does not stop or change, but eventually becomes extremely annoying. When the track finally gets going, it is incredible, and rocks with the same intensity as "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" and "L'via L'viaquez". There are amazing riffs and intense changes. It is truly a prog epic, with the actual music part clocking in at over 10 minutes and consisting of several parts. On another light note, the version of "the Widow" on side B is devoid of all the pretentious noisy gunk that was tacked on to that track on the LP, making that song just a bit more enjoyable. Anyone who enjoys TMV's music should find this single agreeable.