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Review:
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Once again I am amazed at how much progressive rock
there is out there. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been
listening to the band Yak that hail out of the UK, Essex
to be exact. I guess you could call it their fourth CD,
if you include a couple discs that consisted of live jam
sessions. Yak’s new disc is entitled Journey of the Yak
and consists of six wonderful instrumental tracks created
by a trio of musicians, Martin Morgan (keyboards), Dave
Speight (drums) and Gary Bennett (bass). For the record
the band originally came together as a quartet in 1982 but
folded a couple years later, only to come back onto the
music scene in 2004. It’s also probably worth noting that
Speight currently plays with the Enid-offshoot entitled
Whimwise.
As mentioned Journey of the Yak features six instrumental
compositions and other than two short three-minuters the
others are all just under or a little over ten-minutes.
I’m reminded a little of band’s like The Enid but more perhaps
by the Enid offshoot Craft who released one album back in
the eighties. The music is highly structured and elaborately
arranged but isn’t quite as orchestral sounding as The Enid,
but still very symphonic in nature. These tracks are all
pretty up-tempo and at times really place an emphasis on
the rock part. Each of these tracks will move through any
number of dramatic sections all hinged together by moving
themes and classically styled musical motifs. And while
never overly busy or complicated the structure of these
songs is quite varied and ever changing. Another word there’s
lots going on in each track. We’re treated to many recurring
themes, excellent Mellotron samples, changing dynamics,
all manor of keyboards, brilliant melodic riffs and more
than enough symphonic flair to keep you coming back for
more.
Not knowing what to expect it’s always a special treat
to be won over by such excellent music. Journey of the Yak
is music that will easily appeal to a wide swath of progressive
rock fans. If you’re into the trio approach of bands like
ELP or Craft or the more symphonic Japanese bands like Outer
Limits or certainly bands like the Enid or Whimwise, well
then Yak is right for you. I’m really liking this record
and highly recommend it. Great job!
www.jerrylucky.com
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