| The
Review |
OK, most of you might be thinking, what the hell is a
drummer doing releasing a solo album, that does not fit the
profile of a drummers album? The answer: performing chops
of all types and showcasing himself as one hell of a songwriter,
that's what. ***
Basically more than just a glamorized singer-songwriter
album, this offering from Spock's Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio
showcases his credibility beyond the drumkit, showing that
not only has he had profound influence on SB's melodic sound,
and could easily front the bad if he had to, Oh Wait, he Is
now fronting that band. ***
So basically, fans of Spock's Beard sort of knew what
to hopefully expect when Mr. Morse left, I mean it did shock
fans and sent a shudder of wonder down the progressive rock
world that the "pop song and dance man" of prog was now jumping
ship due to personal spirituality reasons (nothing wrong with
that). ***
But enough about SB, lets talk about "Karma," well opening
with the acoustic riffs of "The River is Wide," mixing the
folky atmosphere with heavy technical drumming, leading to
a more diverse hard driving cut, leaving room for sparse arpeggios
to prevent the song from going too far into a jam session,
setting the tone for where the song makes the main statement
on this record, coinciding with the musicianship that compliments
D'Virgilio's style. While the record keeps a balance between
progressive pop and progressive rock, it is not too far fetched
from Spock's Beard, I mean the heaviest cut on the record
is the somewhat experimental "Forgiven," while D'Virgilio
dabbles in world music percussion with the title cut. There
is lots of material here that seems to ride along in the more
eased back vein of things, such as the time when we hit the
middle of the record with cuts like "The Game," "the ballad
"The Waters Edge," as well as the emotional "Come What May."
The more upbeat moments come from cuts like "Untitled," "Dream
in Red," and the final extended cut," Paying the Price." ***
In some cases this record is has it's heavier moments
than most SB records, and D'Virgilio's voice is less "trained"
sounding than Morse's, singing in a less high range, but always
staying on key. I many cases this record is heavier and progressive
than most of Morse's solo material (no offence Neal), being
that Morse sort of went all out pop almost combining the sound
of the Eagles with Ben Folds, but D'Virgilio combines the
sound of Spock's Beard, along with more of a rock sound, without
going overboard on the production. ***
In one way or another the album title says it all, I
mean since D'Virgilio was able to show his talents beyond
being a drummer, it all came back around to him, now he will
be showcasing his talents as frontman for Spock's Beard. ***
Tommy Hash
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