Analysis.
It would perhaps have been better if I had examined the debut Phideaux CD, "Fiendish", before their more recent creations, but I received it only two months ago - along with the project's freshest release, "The Great Leap" (see article below). So feeling myself in a way a victim of circumstances, I fear I may strongly digress from my traditional style in this review. Oh well, what will be will be:-). Although this 45-minute / 11-track outing is definitely Phideaux's most accessible album to date, I don't experience any negative emotions because of that, although I am a very hypercritical music lover, one of those who, that being said, are Prog-heads to the very marrow of their bones. Besides, I gave already several listens to "Fiendish", receiving a lot of pleasure each time I play the CD, and I am sure that most of it will never bore me. The music is relatively simple indeed, but is so original (free of anyone's influences, unlike "313"), sincere and inspired all at the same time, that I enjoy it without paying any attention to the level of its progressiveness, which in this particular case is of no importance to me almost at all. This is a feeling that I rarely experience otherwise when hearing the creations which were made during the heyday of Rock music - before the rust of commercialism began eating away the genre. Overall, "Fiendish" is a stylistically unified musical substance and, using the cold language of terminologies, is 'early' Art-Rock, at times moderately heavy, but mostly warm, symphonic and, say, glaringly vintage all alike - regardless of whether the emphasis is placed on electric or acoustic instruments, though the picture is in most cases mixed. On the other hand however, I perceive the album as a kind of Rock Opera (like "Tommy", for instance), this impression being given me due not only to the absence of pauses between most of the tracks or the activity of two female backing vocalists, but also - and to a great degree - to Mr. Xavier's very spectacular singing, as well as an overall atmosphere which reigns throughout the recording, being indescribably-specific, yet quite typical of such concept creations. The first two numbers, Fragment and Animal Games, are alone among the shorter tracks in finding the piano shining at the forefront of the arrangements throughout, meaning those developing alongside the vocals as well. On all six of the other songs that don't exceed 5 minutes in duration such a role is assigned to acoustic guitar, though I am not at all about to belittle the significance of the other principal soloing instruments, namely electric guitar, bass and various vintage keyboards. Nonetheless, while these are present on each of them, their activity is striking for the most part only within the instrumental sections. 100 mg and Headstones are similar to the first two tracks in their pan-musical appearance. Vultures & Mosquitoes and the largely instrumental 100 Coda both are imbued with inventive strings arrangements; the title track has a genuinely chamber sound in places (just listen to the cello in its introductory theme - it's wonderful), and Hellphone stands out for its distinct Baroque feeling. Well, these all are just details, nuances. What is really important is that each of the eight shorter tracks is touched by a wing of magic and is just bewitching. I equally like them all and am unable to choose a favorite. This is music that is progressive despite the absence of intricate arrangements, having a philosophical feeling without being sophisticated. As for the longer tracks, Little Monster (5:13), Space Brother (5:53) and Soundblast (7:17), the piano is back, while my progressive ears rebel against these. But, that's not because the general approach that the group uses on this disc better suits the short-format songs. Unlike any of the shorter ones, the said three are not only abundant in repetitions, but are also lacking in any expressive soloing. Space Brother is an ordinary piano ballad with a light spacey sense in two very brief instrumental interludes and is the most boring. The groovy Hard Rock number Little Monster exploits an effective alternation of softer and harsher textures, but the corresponding themes themselves remain nearly unchangeable. The lushly symphonic Soundblast is more eventful and is much better in general, but nevertheless its length is unjustified, compared to the richness of its musical content. Do you think I'm somewhat contradicting myself now? Well, that's how things turned out to be. After all, you were warned:-) that the review might reveal some unexpected turns, undercurrents and rocky pitfalls. All in all, I've decided to rate "Fiendish" from a classic progressive standpoint, although I understand this is a sort of universal music that might equally make happy a conservatory professor and a plodder. Very highly recommended to those who like The Beatles and Pink Floyd, Queen and Procol Harum, Supertramp and ELO...
Analysis.
I am so deeply disappointed with the new Phideaux album, "The Great Leap", that I've mentally renamed it to "The Leap Into Nowhere", which IMHO much more precisely mirrors the essence of this recording, at least from a progressive viewpoint, compared to any of the group's previous releases. It seems they have set their mind on joining the notorious musical mainstream. Serious target. It demands many offerings from candidates. In any event it's clear that Phideaux have sharply deviated from their initial course when making this "Great Leap". As a result, they've lost most of their progressive achievements, their trademark sound having been severely damaged. Almost everything on this recording is subjected to the laws of rhythm and brightness. Most of the eleven tracks are vocal-heavy, revealing at most three very brief instrumental interludes on the one hand and few, if any, tempo changes on the other (some numbers, such as The Waiting and Last, being totally song-based though). What's worse, however, is that all such songs have a really pure instrumental background, where even a single solo running alongside the vocals is a quite rare occurrence. Have a look at the lineup above. Familiar picture. Alas, the session musicians' contribution is minor this time out (which is not their fault for sure), even though some of their instruments are clearly heard in places. The part that the female singers take on here is, let's say, the most symbolic, as they appear only on four tracks and only episodically. Among the vintage keyboards, only organ is effective in places, but even this instrument is used very sparingly. The spirit of vintage Rock seems to be preserved, but is either heavily oppressed or completely sacrificed to the 'almightiness' of a fashionably modern sound. The group has added to their arsenal some of the current tendencies in mainstream 'Prog' and Metal, so the echoes of late Porcupine Tree (at their most accessible) and Tiamat are now heard in their music more often than those of The Beatles, Alan Price and Procol Harum. Abducted is the only song here that more or less fully suits my concept of Progressive Rock. Rainboy is structurally similar, but its largest part is nothing else but a smooth ballad, either heavy or mellow. The alternation of softer and harder textures is also typical of Wake Up, Tannis Root, Long & Lonely Way and They Hunt You Down. These, however, are only Prog-tinged songs, vocal-heavy, with a hypnotically monotonous rhythm running almost throughout. The other pieces are free of heaviness at all. You & Me Against a World of Pain, I was Thinking and One Star are Prog-tinged at best, whilst The Waiting, but especially Last, is too simple, polished, and uninspired all alike to be considered even a statistically-average pop song, and I am fully aware of what I say here. Contrary to my expectations, "The Great Leap" didn't become my favorite Phideaux creation, most of the disc leaving a sense of being the product of a cold calculation.
VM: June 20 / July 3 & 4 / November 9 & 10, 2006
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