Review:

on 2011-04-15 CharlesMartel Said:

In spite of the fact that I own several albums from the genre, I generally do not like prog rock. There are times when I find the forced virtuosity of it all a little wearing. And then again there are the themes: if it is not mystical soul searching and navel gazing over the meaning of life and the purpose of the inner self, it is distant romantic attractions to mythical ladies in flowing white gowns wistfully gazing across limpid pools at unicorns grazing on manna in some pre-Raphaelite utopia. Frankly, it all too often comes across as too much damn hobbit bothering for my tastes.

So, when I started to listen to this album, I was not really expecting great things. Sure enough, in "Lady Fantasy", "Mirage" contains a poetic ode to said wistfully gazing lady even though I did not get the impression that this was the equivalent of a pre-Raphaelite painting set to music. And then again, with "Nimrodel", there is a lot of mythical stuff flying around. After the first listen I was ready to enlist in the forces of the Dark Lord to lead an army of Orcs to wipe those bloody hobbits off the face of Middle Earth.

But I am not one to give up on an album on first listen unless it is unlistenable crap. And this was not. And I am glad I did not give up on "Mirage". For this is no ordinary prog rock album. This is not Jon Anderson wailing like some castrated elf across the rich green valleys of Rivendell in search of some eastern mystic to restore his vocal chords. This is not Pink Floyd droning on with extended double action guitar solos. This is certainly not Genesis and their nauseatingly elitist private school educated cleverer-than-thou smug bastard attitude. This is not even Rush with their Greek gods warring interminably until Geddy, Alex and Neil happen to drop by and solve the problems of the world and restore calm to Mount Olympus

Once you actually listen to the music in the album you begin to realise that this is heavier, more upbeat than a lot of prog rock albums. The music slips easily from Keith Emerson-style keyboard pieces to a bluesy style guitar. At no point, thankfully, does any member of the band step forward and announce to the listener that you are about to be subjected to a thirteen-minute solo, draining you of the will to live. No, the virtuosity of the band members enables them to co-exist peacefully and to allow the music on the album to stand up and speak for itself. It is almost as if this is prog rock for people who don't like prog rock, or a sort of working man's version of the genre as a contrast to the elitist twaddle of Genesis. Prog rock for the masses - now there's a concept. My appreciation for the album eventually led me to discard my CD-R version and go out and get the expanded and remastered version, complete with the addition of some bonus live tracks. These show the band's mastery of their material was not confined to the sterility of a studio.

The truth is, I can listen to this. More, I can hear it in the sense that I can hear the music without being distracted by inane lyrics or ridiculous pseudo-philosophical musings Thankfully, on "Mirage", the hobbits have returned to the peace of the fictional Shire from whence they came and my desire to enlist with the 3rd Lancashire Orc Fusiliers has passed.
Rating: 6/10