Review:
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Mostly Autumn has been one of the most productive progressive
rock bands over the last ten years. They also quickly became
one of the best even though flying slightly under the radar
initially did not position them ideally or fairly. Most
deservingly that changed and now its over ten years later
and we have Pass The Clock-1998-2008, a collection of 35
remastered tracks spanning that timeframe.***
Bryan Josh (lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, rhythm
guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, keyboards, piano),
Heather Findlay (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar,
12 string guitar, piano, recorders, percussion), Iain Jennings
(keyboards, piano), Anne-Marie Helder (flutes, keyboards,
piano, acoustic guitars, backing vocals), Liam Davison (rhythm
guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, slide guitars,
backing vocals), Andy Smith (bass guitars), Gavin Griffiths
(drums) and Olivia Sparnenn (backing vocals, percussion)
make up the current Mostly Autumn lineup.***
Mostly Autumn's sound is very atmospheric with a combination
of keyboards, guitars, bass, various forms of percussion,
flutes and dreamy vocals provided by Heather Findlay and
David Gilmour like vocalizations from Bryan Josh. Their
overall sound has always reminded me of Pink Floyd, but
much of what they do is very original and memorable. I discovered
this band early in their career around 2000 or thereabouts
and immediately was captivated with what they had to offer.
Since then I have reviewed a lot of their work including
lavishly presented DVD sets and high end CDs for optimal
sound. You can always count on a great quality presentation
from this band.***
Pass The Clock-1998-2008 seems like it could be overkill
with 3 CDs and 35 tracks, however that is far from the case.
If you are a solid band like Mostly Autumn it's not hard
to come up with select tracks over a ten year period, the
difficulty lies in choosing which tracks to include in such
a comprehensive set. It seemed like an insurmountable task
for the band to choose the tracks, but it did come together
and the final piece was remastering everything. The final
results are jaw dropping sounds that even the most astute
prog-rock enthusiast would find difficulty in criticizing.
The packing is top notch featuring a high quality cardboard
three piece gatefold CD holder with liner notes and the
necessary thanks to the important supporters of the band.***
I suppose packaging is the least important in most cases,
however when you are talking about progressive rock listeners
it happens to go hand in hand with the music. Mostly Autumn
has never been a band to feature futuristic or spacey designs
on their album covers like Yes or Uriah Heep for instance,
they are lower key and their artwork reflects a more subtle
message while fitting the band's approach and name. This
is an outstanding collection of tracks, not one dinger in
the lot folks and a quintessential This is an outstanding
collection of tracks, not one dinger in the lot folks and
a quintessential snapshot of one of the most excellent perhaps
underrated prog-rock bands in the world. ***
Fans should know as well that two volumes of Live 2009
are now available from the band.
5/5 Stars Keith "MuzikMan"
Hannaleck,©MuzikReviews.com For Questions Or Comments
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Keith
(Muzikman) Hannaleck
http://www.muzikreviews.com
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