After the success of my “Love or Hate?” thread I've come to realise that for the shorter style reviews for which I originally set this journal up, the format works really well and so from today I'm changing to that format. If anyone doesn't know about the thread (come out from under that rock) the brief synopsis is that I go through the album track by track and colour code each song according to how much I liked, or did not like it. The codes are as follows:
Red = Truly hated this track. Nothing to redeem it. Would not listen to it again.
White = Characterised as Meh in the thread, this can be a song which either I was not very impressed with but did not quite hate, or that I have not yet made my mind up about. It can also be one that made so little impression on me that I can't really say whether it was any good or not.
Orange = A track I liked but did not love
Green = A track I loved
Blue = A track I am absolutely wild about.
Because of this change of format, some of the old categories have been moved and some have in fact been deleted, as they no longer really fit in. The latter include “Initial impression”, “Overall impression”, “Intention”, “Best/worst tracks” etc., all of which can now be gleaned from looking at the individual tracks and how I reacted to them.
Okay then, let's go with the first album reviewed under the new format.
Artiste: Flying Colors
Nationality: American
Album: Second Nature
Year: 2014
Label: Mascot Label Group
Genre: Progressive Rock
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard good things
Interesting factoid: A “supergroup” made up of some of the stars of progressive rock, including Mike Portnoy and the two Morse brothers from Spock's Beard, Neil and Steve.
Tracks:
1. Open up your eyes: Excellent top-level prog instrumental opening which takes us about five minutes into a twelve-minute track, then the vocal comes in from Casey McPherson and it just gets better. There's a little of that Yes-style stop/start guitar and keyboard that often turns me off some prog rock (Spock's Beard use it a lot too) but that only detracts slightly from the overall excellence of this as an opening track. You could say the guys were taking a chance with such a long opener but I reckon they pulled it off and it sets the rest of the album up to really try to match, or even outdo, this.
2. Mask machine: A real chance for bassist Dave LaRue to show off his skills with a superb dark little bass solo to open. The vocal is oddly mechanised or somehow muddy at first, a little hard to make out, but it quickly takes shape. The song itself is much rockier than the opener, with a real killer hook and was in fact the first single from the album.
3. Bombs away: Well this is a heavy guitar led tune too, but in a slower vein, almost “When the levee breaks” in its style. Quite a passionate vocal, leaning just a little into AOR territory at times. Great solo from Steve Morse. Somewhat of a sudden ending. Hmm.
4. The fury of my love: Beautiful piano ballad on which Neal Morse gets to really shine. Lush strings accompaniment.
5. A place in your world: Kind of a feel of The Alan Parsons Project about this, Sounds like a Hammond there. Great vocal, a real rocker. Reminds me a little of Asia too. Another great hook, and the song just buzzes with energy. Okay, the lyric is nothing original but it's a good song.
6. Lost without you: Not a ballad, but a sort of mid-paced love song with again a very Asia feel to it, especially
Aura/
Phoenix era.
7. One love forever: Very jangly guitar, celtic style with what sounds like accordion but is probably synthesised. Really bouncy, upbeat song but again I cannot shake those Asia comparisons. If I didn't know better I would think John Payne or Wetton were in this band. (They're not). Still, not very much at all to complain about so far on this album.
8. Peaceful harbor: Great kind of crooned vocal opening, then it's acoustic guitar in what I guess must be the second ballad. Sounds a bit like steel guitar there too. Superb powerful vocal chorus from some women called The McCrary Sisters really adds heart to this.
9. Cosmic symphony (i) Still life of the world (ii) Searching for air (iii) Pound for pound: And what prog rock album would be complete without an epic multi-part suite? Running for just shy of twelve minutes (and so making this an album with an epic opener and closer very close in length to each other) this is, as you can see, split into three parts. Part I, “Still life of the world”has a very Tony Banksesque piano opening it, and a somehow ominous feel to it, helped along bu some urgent strings. You can kind of sense it building towards something, though in fairness it peters out and in part II “Searching for air” it turns into a really nice guitar led piece, then the strings return and with a slick guitar solo lead it into part III “Pound for pound”. Back comes that Banks piano joined by (dare I say it?) Rod Stewartlike guitar, with the vocal this time very reminiscent of Springsteen to me. Mostly driven on Steve Morse's expressive guitar, and with a return of those McCrary Sisters, who could be the “new Pink Floyd” girls, it's a great closer to an excellent album.
Comments: There really is nothing on this album I don't like, and much I love. I think I may have to make it a priority to check out their debut now. A wonderful effort.I do hear a lot of Asia, and of course a lot of Spock's Beard, but not so much as to make this anything like a clone/amalgam of those bands. Plus, of course, it helps that I like them both.
