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Progland was founded by John Gabbard in 2005. It's purpose has been to provide you, the music community with the latest music and dvd reviews. It will continue to be your link to the most popular music reviews in the progressive world.

 

STENCIL FOREST - "Opening Act"

Label - CD Baby
Reviewed by: Jason Carzon
Genre: Prog Rock
Country: USA
Language: English
Length: 49:06
Release Date: 1983/Re-Released in 2004
Label:
CD Baby
Band Members: Doug Andresen lead and backing vocals Frank Cassella guitars, mellotron, keyboards, vocals, lead vocals on 10
  Rick Cassella hammond b-3, grand paino, mini-moog, arp strings, clavinet, vocals Rob Nilsen guitars, vocals
  Scott Noyes bass, pedals, vocals Stan Swaim drums, percussion
  Bill Stout bass on 9 Jim Cassella drums and percussion on 9
     
Track Listing: 1.)-Opening Act 8.)- Five Studded Poker Player Bonus Tracks on CD Reissue:
  2.)- Celestial Voices 9.)- Five by Five
  3.)- Just a Fantasy 10.)- Just a Fantasy (Acoustic Version)
  4.)-Crossroads  
  5.)- Looking Back  
  6.)-The Pandemonium Shadow Show  
  7.)-Indian Summer  
     
The Review

AOR fans will rejoice and do backflips over this one. Stencil Forest were one of those midwestern bands who excelled in the genre some call 'pomp rock', and as you can imagine got lumped in with similar ilk alongside Styx, Kansas, Starcastle, etc. Any fan of any of those classic American bands will find more to chew on with this album. Apparently, Stencil Forest made this one album and faded into oblivion, before returning this year with a new album, 'THE ABYSS'. In between, vinyl copies of OPENING ACT had become a much sought-after record for AOR fans.***

This isn't some retro band of now, this is a valid document of an era and a genre. Sometimes some of the 'lost' or forgotten recordings of, say, AOR or 'pomp-rock' , speak volumes for the genre often more so than the big names. So, while the originality factor is slightly lacking here, keep in mind that this isn't so much a clone of the big names as it is more of the same from that era, though perhaps they came a little too late, as the big names like Kansas and Styx were starting to show cracks. There's plenty of melodic moments and razzle-dazzle guitar and keyboard interplay, but perhaps they needed one single back then to at least have been a one-hit wonder. Anyway, OPENING ACT would find a happy home in the AOR-lover's collection along with STYX, JOURNEY, KANSAS, STARCASTLE, YES, AMBROSIA, SUPERTRAMP, all of the above and maybe more exists in some small detail or another within the fabric of OPENING ACT.***

the tracks: OPENING ACT: starts off with the big riffs ala 80's Kiss before moving into the big pumping anthem thing. There are some good melodic passages here in between the pumpimg and the balladeering, like those classic twin lead guitar sounds and some spacey synths. The vocals remind me of Survivor.***

CELESTRIAL VOICES: A Starcastle-type track with some nice Styx-like organ and guitar. Some spacey mellotron-type keys too. The lyrics border on the ridiculous, talking about 'crystal waterfalls' and 'interdimesional gateways'. Talk about pomp-rock, but those naive bits add to the overall charm of this dated gem. ***

JUST A FANTASY: acoustic guitar textures with synth blend Kansas and Ambrosia elements for this epic-sounding ballad track. Nice piano too.***

CROSSROADS: American neo-prog? This one has Pallas/IQ elements with the vocals(Alan Reed/Paul Menel sound) and the intro, and has some Yes-like keys.***

LOOKING BACK: back into some AOR-rock Journey/REO sounds with the vocal harmonies and anthem chorus.***

PANDEMONIUM SHADOW SHOW: more epic in nature, with dramatic bits befitting a song about any dark circus coming to town. Strands of acoustic guitar and piano swirl around the heavy rock crashes and Wakeman-esque synth presence. Yes elements speak out here.***

INDIAN SUMMER: a power-ballad in the direction of some Survivor/John Wetton hybrid.***

FIVE STUDDED POKER PLAYER: the obligatory AOR song about gamblers/gambling. Nice synth solos and overall keyboard-emphasis.***

FIVE BY FIVE: This one sounds more akin to the decade it was recorded in than the rest of the 70's-ish album, with reggae elements and 80's sounding keys and drum production.***

JUST A FANTASY(acoustic version): an acoustic version of the album track brings out hidden depths lacking in the full-blown band version, perhaps working better this way.***

Stencil Forest's debut here is a decent AOR album with proggy overtones which should please the STYX/KANSAS fanatic who thought he had collected all the pomp-rock he could, only to find that one had somehow gotten away- Stencil Forest!***

 

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