THE FYREWORKS

Rob Reed is definitely one of the most prolific figures of the second Progressive Rock wave and The Fyreworks is another proof for this fact, a one-shot project he formed in mid-90's, recruiting fellow [Artist6341] bandmate Andy Edwards on guitars/vocals, Danny Chang on guitars, Doug Sinclair on bass and future [Artist17079] drummer Tim Robinson.The band's sole eponymous effort was recorded at The Farmhouse and DCM Studios between March 1995 and December 1996 and released at the end of the year on F2 Music label.

According to Reed, the main goal of the project was to capture the feeling of the 70's Prog legends and present a work filled with the fundamentals of vintage Progressive Rock, as Cyan was sounding more like Pendragon than any of the bands of the 70's.The result was quite satisfying in my opinion, as Reed & Co. managed to combine the clear production of the modern era with the strong analog sounds of the 70's.The album is filled with references to the music of GENTLE GIANT, GENESIS, JETHRO TULL or YES, pretty unoriginal music, but the arrangements are mostly beautiful, elaborate and adventurous.Actually the album has little connections with Cyan's music and recalls the future work of Reed with Magenta, this is polished and retro-sounding Symphonic Rock with nice interplays, some intricate melodic passages and plenty of breaks.The music is heavily driven by the analog sounds of Reed's keyboards, including organ, Mellotron, synths and piano, the flexible work of the Edwards/Chang duo on guitars with elegant GENESIS vibes and complex GENTLE GIANT-like grooves and the powerful flutes of guest musician Lee Goodall, not far from JETHRO TULL'S IAN ANDERSON.In a few occasions The Fyreworks' music even contains some great violin work in the vein of KANSAS, delivered by Billy Thompson.

This is a very good tribute by The Fyreworks to the majestic Prog scene of the 70's, covering almost the whole spectrum of the biggest acts ever to play this music.Not very original, but certainly fascinating and demanding music.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.