Ever been in this situation? - One day, a music friend plays a CD to you - you sit there thinking “What the ---- is this…hey, it’s real classic prog”? “Where did you get it…where can I buy it”? Your fried replies, “oh, I think it’s deleted now”. As you turn to give yourself a hefty kick in the butt, you think to yourself… “Darn it… I remember reading a CDS review and totally ignoring it because it was Italian”. “What was I thinking of… How stupid can you be? I really want this in my collection too”, and you are SO disappointed. Been there, done that, eh? Well, avoid it happening again here – Read on, this is something you’re sure to want…

569179
Weight: 150.00 g

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It is keyboard/guitar-based and lies somewhere between the worlds of classic period Genesis and modern Tangerine Dream, but closer to the former. This is an album of ‘playing’ rather than ‘sampling’ as Lynne utilises his full armoury of keyboards, guitars and percussion to perform a mighty sounding symphonic rock album full of melodic energy and dynamics. He glides through passages of superb instrumental music that bridge the worlds of ‘Synth Instrumental’ and ‘Progressive Rock’, almost as if there is no barrier between them. From spiralling synth intros that break into rhythmic percussion driven pulsating pieces, through to slices of grandiose, guitar fronted symphonic prog wonder and on to moving mellow territory with dream-like qualities, all 11tracks are extremely melodic and accessible to a wide-ranging listening audience. This is sixty-seven minutes of crossover music of the finest calibre, full of sweeping synth work and Hackett-esque guitar soloing, and therein lies the main influences to this music, because there are lots of references to that Genesis/Steve Hackett style of symphonic rock where guitar lead passages are backed with lush melodic keyboard orchestrations and soaring solos.

940300
Weight: 150.00 g

OK – in this review game, sometimes we get flack for praising albums to high heaven when others may always share our enthusiasm – Well, it’s all down to a matter of opinion really and those who know us well, do realise that we always tell it how it is, and we don’t often get it that wrong!  As much to reassure your public that you are still genuinely in retention of any critical faculties, and to redress the balance somewhat, we occasionally pounce on something we feel is not so good and tell it like it is for that too, which, inevitably means, I’m afraid, that someone has to get it in the neck. Well, I think this deserves it, but we weren’t sure if it should be in the ‘Prog’ or the ‘Humour’ section! Out Of Phase are a Danish five-piece Pink Floyd Tribute Band that have chosen to re-create an entire PF album rather than select their favourite tracks, so what’s the verdict on this then? Well, in the light of my extolling the virtues of the Pink Floyd tribute albums, ‘Signs Of Life’ and after that ‘More Relics’, then the 2002 ‘All Stars’ release, you might think I’d be simply telling you that anyone doing anything to do with Floyd is great, regardless of whether or not it actually is, so it becomes me to say, with a mixture of tears and laughter, that this thing is a positive embarrassment. You have to think of maybe The Corrs going right off the rails on dope and going all psychedelic and trancey, to get anywhere near this one. So, if you’re in need of a good laugh, then click the extra info link…

610295
Weight: 150.00 g

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A double disc set for all audiophiles who are Alan Parson Project’s fans, because this is a 20 bit remastering job encoded with SBM technology (Super Bit Mapping) and pressed on Gold plated CD’s. So, can expect a superior sound from all that technology? The answer has to be yes – the overall sound is smooth and warm with the imaging of the voices and instruments extremely well defined over the stereo soundstage. Given that you are getting 140 minutes with 32 of APP songs and instrumental classics, all in all, this a great package for the money.

838002
Weight: 250.00 g

Ah ahh... the first band to who fall into the area of “I want to be Porcupine Tree” and nearly pull it off to a tee. They try for similar arrangements, similar dynamics, similar song structures, similar vocal structures, similar instrumental sounds – hell, they might just as well call themselves the first Porcupine Tree tribute band and have done with it. Yeh, it’s THAT close. But is it good? Is it the sort of thing that, if you bought it, you’d play it more than once? Well, that’s tricky – there’s a great many of you out there who will think that this is actually BETTER than ‘Lightbulb Sun’ was, and that is a actually a complement to the band, but, that said, it’s not the spectacular album that ‘Stupid Dream’ was either, but then you could hardly expect miracles here, could you. Overall, you’d have to say that this is one seriously hot album from one seriously hot band who have got the whole Porcupine Tree thing sorted and will be the standard by which other PT wannabes are measured. Zero for originality – ten out of ten otherwise.

559753
Weight: 150.00 g

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785053
Weight: 150.00 g

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